View allAll Photos Tagged setbacks
This image was captured during a recent visit to Rough Tor which is situated on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.
The image depicts Rough Tor in the background overlooking the vast landscape of Bodmin Moor below.
Having previously been to this location (back in 2018), I had high hopes for this visit. However as you can see the clouds overhead helped to crate a dull scene. There would be some light break through the mostly impregnable clouds. Even with this natural setback I look forward to coming back again.
Bonanza suffered its first setback when fire raged through the town in 1889; however, it continued to survive until a second fire destroyed an entire block in May, 1897, and most of the remaining merchants moved to nearby Custer instead of rebuilding. By this time, the waterworks had fallen into disrepair and firefighters were unable to save the buildings..
In the mid 1960s Škoda manufacturer AZNP started to think about a successor for the 1000 MB and the later 100/110 series. Ital Design founder Giorgetto Giugiaro (It., 1938) was asked for ideas. In June 1969 useful sketches were approved, and in Aug. 1969 the first model 740 prototype was presented.
After overcoming many problems and setbacks, production could finally start in 1976.
The Škoda Type 742 and 746 share the same body. They were available as 105, 120 and as 125, depending on the engine. The type designation 130 Type 743 was reserved for the coupe.
In 1983 renewed 742 versions were presented. They received rectangular head lamps.
In the UK these cars were sold as Estelle. In France as 1050, because Peugeot had claimed the rights of using the 105 model name for their own cars.
1046 cc L4 rear engine.
Performance: 46 bhp.
902 kg.
Production Škoda Type 742 series: Aug. 1976-1989.
Production Škoda 742 series this 2nd version: Sept. 1983-1989.
Production Škoda Type 742 105 series version: Aug. 1976-1987.
Original Dutch reg. number: Aug. 10, 1984.
Since July 2, 2011 with current owner.
Alkmaar, Wezelkoog, April 27. 2025.
© 2025 Sander Toonen Halfweg | All Rights Reserved
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
Street candid taken in Glasgow, Scotland. I took this shot while I was resting my painful ankle on a bench, I was just struck by how elegant this young woman looked in comparison to all others that were passing by at the time. My ankle is healing well from the 3rd surgery despite a minor setback that has delayed my physiotherapy by a week. I am really missing the city streets already!
To end this roller coaster of 2020, I wanted to go with a formal "dress to the 9's" look to end it with a bang 💥
Reflecting back on 2020, this has been a trying year with milestones met and challenges faced head on. For me on a personal level, I am now more comfortable with my true self and have even come out to a few co-workers and family members on what my plans are over the next 5 years as Kris. With the support of my wife and close friends, road bumps and setbacks lay ahead but, I feel that I am ready to face this head on!
Remember we are only on this earth for so long, make the most of it for YOURSELF and not living for others expectations! Cut out the naysayers and negativity to attain your goals!
And on that bombshell (as Jeremy Clarkson would say lol), I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy and successful New Year! 💋🎆
I'm a sucker for rusted, beaten and worn old cars.
To reproduce such a worn look in a LEGO Moc is rather difficult.
When LEGO was launching the "Cars" licence, many new parts in great colors like brown or medium blue or with usefull prints came with it.
The only setback (for me, because I was hoping for) once the sets where unveiled was that all sets didn't really had a scale that fits into the existing LEGO world like LEGO City.
So I came up with the idea to make a kinda Minifig sized version of the famous Tow Mater.
But didn't just want to reproduce a cartoonish version like in the movie with eyes and whatnot.
I'd rather wanted to have a real life version of a rusted 50's tow truck just scaled down and made from bricks by using some of the printed parts from the cars sets.
Was/is there ever a more disgusting architectural statement in Vancouver than the "Vancouver Special" ? Nothing IMO, they are/were butt ugly.
Vancouver artist Ken Lum created a replica of a Vancouver Special in a vacant lot on Union Street by Gore Avenue Vancouver in February 2015. The art installation was meant to be a comment on housing affordability in the city. - is titled "Vancouver Especially".
The cost of a Vancouver Special was about $45,000, the same amount Lum received to build and display his replica.
The Vancouver Special was an architectural style of affordable home designed to maximize square footage on small lots. About 10,000 of them were built in Vancouver between 1965 and 1985.
Lum's sculpture is made of brick, wood and stucco, and looks weathered in the same way as some of the still standing Vancouver Specials.
VANCOUVER SUN
Opinion: Vancouver Specials offering many lessons on housing.
Vancouver Sun 23 August 2017
By: Elizabeth Murphy.
vancouversun.com/author/emurphy
The infamous “Vancouver Special” house has had a profound impact across the city, especially on the east side. It is important to put some context to where it came from and lessons applicable to today.
Builders developed them on spec for immigrant families in the 1960s and ’70s. But Specials were broadly detested because they were large, sprawled across the lot, ugly and resulted in the demolition of character houses that destroyed the streetscape.
The Special was credited for being easily converted to two units. However, the original character houses had future potential to be converted into multiple suites and infill that Specials couldn’t achieve since they sprawled over the rear yard. So the original character house wasn’t just more attractive and made of superior materials and craftsmanship, but also could accommodate more future growth.
Construction costs of the Special were reduced by stripping out everything that was unnecessary beyond basic building-code requirements. It maximized the floor-plate size to build the largest house possible within the allowed setbacks without having to build either a below-grade basement or a second storey.
Up to 1974, the area of the lower floor wasn’t counted if it was one foot below grade. So the earlier versions of the Special took advantage of this option with another storey above. Later, versions were the same except slightly smaller with a slab-on-grade entrance.
This meant that most of the lot was covered by the house, which eliminates the option for a laneway house. Even more so when the garage or carport was attached at the back and the rest of the lot was a paved driveway.
Finishes were the least expensive possible, such as stucco, aluminum windows, no trims, no porch, with a little brick in the front facade. The roof was at the minimum slope to shed water.
Why would anyone create housing so lacking in design taste that it was considered hideous and reviled by most people? To understand the origins of the Special, it helps to understand the man behind it, Larry Cudney, my stepfather.
He originally was training to be an architect, but had a falling out with the company he was interning with. Without architect certification, he was limited as a draftsman to working only on single-family houses. So he started his own drafting service called Prana Group.
A client spec-builder came up with the house concept that Cudney drafted into what became his Vancouver Special stock plans. He could provide permit-ready drawings at an extremely low price of about $50.
Creating a completely tasteless form of housing was his revenge on the architect profession with which he was in conflict.
But it was more than that. It also reflected his general miserly approach to living. To be blunt, the man was cheap and proud of it, living well below his means. For example, he once bought a second-hand suit for 75 cents and proudly wore a price tag on his lapel to make the point. He gave us “Second Hand Santa” at Christmas, with only gifts he found at the thrift store. He ate at MacDonald’s whenever he could. You get the picture.
Although reusing second-hand items was a sustainable option, he unfortunately didn’t take that approach in his buildings. It was more like the equivalent to the fast-serve, junk-food approach.
How he managed to charge so little for his services is that he cut his costs to the bone. He had low office rent by locating at Main Street and East 33rd Avenue. When that got a little too expensive for him in the 1970s, he moved to Fraser and East 49th Avenue.
He also worked from a home office and employed his children part-time. When I was 11 years old I started printing copy sets from the big ammonia printing machine he had in our rec room, with the ping-pong table for layout. Friends thought we washed our windows a lot since the house always smelled of ammonia. Into my early teens I was helping amend his many stock plans using basic drafting skills. It beat babysitting.
It wasn’t until we moved back to Vancouver a few years later that I realized what I had been working on. There were so many of these detested Vancouver Specials that had replaced beautiful heritage houses. I was horrified. How wasteful to be demolishing these livable superior houses that just needed updating.
However, I also have been encouraged to see that many of the Vancouver Specials are now being updated for current use. Although they were so reviled, many young families are now buying them and renovating. So they’re now becoming quite a popular option, even trendy, contrary to the Special’s original intent.
Cudney said he wouldn’t design “a big stupid house as a monument to someone’s big stupid life.” Ironically, he designed the biggest houses allowed under the rules that sprawled as much as possible over the lot. Indeed “a big stupid house.” But he actually took pride in the fact that Specials were ugly and disliked.
The Vancouver Special ended in about 1976 when Cudney retired, due in part to glaucoma. But with each passing decade the builders’ ‘specials’ have become increasingly larger.
In the 1980s there were the pink-stucco “monster” houses. This was stopped through conditional zoning changes and design guidelines. But in 2009 those provisions were reversed and now we have even bigger, “luxury” monster houses with faux stone and tile facades.
Design guidelines and conditional zoning are essential to prevent this. As the city moves to revise zoning to incentivize character-house retention, it’s important to remember the lessons of the Vancouver Special.
For almost every Vancouver Special built there was a character house taken down. That character house had higher-quality craftsmanship with potential for conversion to more units or infill, even more so than the Special. Demolishing these character houses was pointless and wasteful.
We can have more affordable-housing choices and still meet design and livability objectives. Continuing poor-quality, new, builders’ ‘specials’ should be avoided.
Elizabeth Murphy is a private-sector project manager and was formerly a property-development officer for the City of Vancouver’s housing and properties department and for B.C. Housing. She can be reached at: info@elizabethmurphy.ca.
Eugene Landry (Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe 1932-1988.)
Oil on canvas
Eugene Landry: An Artist, a Time and a Tribe
May 28-29, 2022
Shoalwater Bay Heritage Museum of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, Tokeland, Washington.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portrait of an Artist
Eugene ''Gene'' Landry (1937-1988) was a noted Northwest Native artist, who painted from the confines of a wheelchair. His personal story is one of perseverance, of an artist who created despite setbacks, always with humor and style.
Landry's art offers a glimpse into a transitional and little-documented time in Northwest Native history. His paintings are important because they represent a Native artist's portrayal of his own people during a time when Native Americans were erased, marginalized, and misrepresented by stereotypes in media and public education.
Landry painted contemporary portraits of his people, depicting them as they were. As one of his models said, ''We're so small and isolated here. People think we're so different. At one time, we had a bunch of kids from Raymond come down, and they wanted to know where our feathers were."
Gene was born in the village of Taholah on the Quinault Indian
Reservation. His biological mother was Hoh and his father was Quileute and Swedish. As an infant, he was adopted by Myrtle (Charley) and Fred Landry and raised at Georgetown, Myrtle's reservation.
Identity
As the only child of Myrtle and Fred Landry, Gene was well provided for and deeply loved. His biological-mother, Isabelle Hudson, a full-blooded Hoh, is remembered as having dark reddish-brown hair. His father, Austin Rosander, was half Quiliuette and half Swedish. Although Gene was adopted as a baby, he maintained ties with his biological family, who lived in Grays Harbor and the surrounding area.
Gene's appearance did not conform to expectations of what an Indian was "supposed to look like." His bright red hair (sometimes referred to as "Hoh River blond") made him stand out. In high school, he styled his hair like James Dean and drove a red 1937 hot rod Ford coupe. He was a gifted athlete, known for his running and boxing prowess, but he wasn't
allowed to run track because he refused to cut his hair.
Gene's art training was not traditional to his culture. He reached advanced levels in art at Aberdeen and Ocosta High Schools, but there were no practitioners of Native arts around to mentor him. He explored and developed his talent using the means available, based on Western European art traditions. He would go on to create art with a native sensibility, using the tools available.
Art Student
Gene trained himself to use his non-dominant left hand to paint. In 1961, he enrolled at the Leon F. Derbyshire School of Fine Arts in Seattle. There was no wheelchair access, so Gene had to be carried up the stairs to the second floor classroom.
In 1962 Gene studied with noted Northwest sculptor Philip Levine at his Phoenix Gallery in Seattle. By 1964, Gene was showing his work and winning acclaim in the Pacific Northwest. Over the next four years, he exhibited at the Frye Museum, the West Coast Annual at the Seattle Civic Center, The Edmonds and Anacortes Art Festivals, and the La Grande All Indian Arts Festivals.
Gene met Sharon Billingsley, a model and painter who attended classes at Derbyshire, and they struck up a friendship that led to romance. The couple could often be found sketching street scenes side by side, Gene in his wheelchair, Sharon next to him on a folding stool.
Gene and Sharon married in California on May 28, 1965. They went to Paris to study art, then returned to the Northwest, living in Seattle, Tacoma, and Georgetown until their marriage ended in 1972.
Back to Georgetown, Washington
In the late l960s, Landry moved back to the Shoalwater Bay Reservation. He set up a studio inside a small cabin that had been moved to the reservation from North Cove's at Washaway Beach. A wheel chair ramp and wrap-around deck made it accessible for plein air painting. Situated on the shore of Shoalwater Bay, Gene painted still-lives utilizing objects that washed in on the tides: glass fishing floats, discolored rope, old bones, shells and feathers.
He also painted still lifes and portraits in oil, using his family and friends as models. These works span a pivotal time in the tribe's history, from near termination to federal recognition.
Fifty years have passed since Gene painted Winona Weber's portrait. When asked why Landry's art matters today, she replied:
“I am a historian at heart. Gene's art is part of our history. Also, a talent like his really deserves to be acknowledged. When I was working with the women's history project, I said I was happy to be breaking some stereotypes of native women. A woman said it should just be commonplace. But first you have to be visible to be usual. I would like to see Gene visible."
Later Years
Gene traveled throughout the Southwest, spending time in New Mexico and Arizona. He traveled to Mexico and the Philippines seeking native healers to help with his deteriorating health. He eventually lost function in his left arm but continued to make art, holding the brush in his teeth to reach higher places on the canvas.
In 1980 Gene moved to Santa Barbara. His house, perched on a bluff overlooking the sea, was filled with art, his own and others. He opened a gallery downtown and championed the work of local artists. In the mid 80s his business partner-who was also his care giver unexpectedly died. His own health declining, Gene returned to his parent's home on the reservation.
Gene Landry died April 7, 1988 at age 51. He is buried next to Myrtle Landry and his relations in the Indian section at Sunset Memorial in Hoquiam, Washington. The Shoalwater Bay Tribe’s Na ‘m ‘sc ‘ac Heritage Museum is located on the former site of the cabin and dome.
Illness, November 1955
The illness came without warning. When 17-year-old Gene suddenly lost consciousness, his parents wrapped him in blankets and drove two hours to Cushman Indian Hospital in Tacoma. There were closer facilities for emergency care, but they did not provide Indian Health services. Gene remained a patient at Cushman for two and a half years, undergoing treatment for tubercular meningitis. The disease paralyzed his legs, and he endured grueling physical therapy, but he continued to work on paintings from a hospital bed.
Gene's parents moved to Tacoma to be closer to the hospital. When Myrtle Landry raised concerns about his condition and the poor care, Gene was abruptly discharged. Myrtle Landry (Washington Women's Heritage Project 1980):
"One doctor said, 'Why don't you just go and leave him and forget about him?' I said, 'Just who do you think you're talking to anyway?' I said, 'I got feelings, even though I'm a full blood Indian, I got feelings.' He said, 'Well, he'll never amount to anything.' I said, 'Well, I'm sure as heck not gonna let him die here.' And boy I raised Cain with 'em. So they told us one day, 'You get out.'
And then the State decided they could do more for him than I could." The decision proved tragic. At a rehabilitation facility on Bainbridge Island, Gene fell while being moved by attendants and suffered a spinal injury. He lost the use of his right arm and the possibility of ever walking again. He was 21 years old.
Mather Tower (later Lincoln Tower, as designated on the Michigan–Wacker Historic District roster; now identified primarily by its address) is a Neo-Gothic, terra cotta-clad high-rise structure in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is located at 75 East Wacker Drive in the downtown "loop" area, adjacent to the Chicago River.
The 521-foot-high building is sometimes called "The Inverted Spyglass" by Chicagoans due to its highly unusual design, a 21-story octagonal tower atop a more conventional 20-story rectangular "box." Briefly the tallest building in Chicago at the time of its completion in 1928, it remains the city's most slender high-rise structure at only 100 by 65 feet at its base. The interior space within the upper octagonal spire contains the least square footage per floor of any Chicago skyscraper.[1]
It was designed by Herbert Hugh Riddle (1875–1939), the architect of the Chicago Theological Seminary,[2] as headquarters for the Mather Stock Car Company, a builder of rail cars for transporting livestock. Its design was greatly influenced by the pioneering Chicago Zoning Ordinance of 1923, which placed no limit on the height of new buildings as long as the surface area of the structure's uppermost floor did not exceed 25% of its footprint. This resulted in a multitude of tall, slender, "setback" towers, of which the Mather is an extreme and unusual example.
Michigan-Wacker Historic District
NRHP #78001124
day 2: nevada & utah
we spent the night in ely, nevada, and in the morning we hit the road again, still on highway 50. we were driving along in the truck somewhere near the nevada/utah border. we're actually not sure where exactly because this was around the area where we missed our turn off and ended up taking a long detour on our way to bryce canyon, utah.
it was our first big setback but it was not to be our last. fortunately for us we were surrounded by land as gorgeous as this. that and the company i kept made it all worth it.
Bilsthorpe colliery 17th December 1992.
56013 sets back into the run round loop with the 10.04 to West Burton, which is a little early looking at those shadows.
Eugene Landry (Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe 1932-1988.)
Oil on canvas
20" x 30"
Gift of James Alflen and Angela Gibbs
Exhibited at the Frye Museum, Seattle, 1964
=======================================================
Eugene Landry: An Artist, a Time and a Tribe
May 28-29, 2022
Shoalwater Bay Heritage Museum of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, Tokeland, Washington.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portrait of an Artist
Eugene ''Gene'' Landry (1937-1988) was a noted Northwest Native artist, who painted from the confines of a wheelchair. His personal story is one of perseverance, of an artist who created despite setbacks, always with humor and style.
Landry's art offers a glimpse into a transitional and little-documented time in Northwest Native history. His paintings are important because they represent a Native artist's portrayal of his own people during a time when Native Americans were erased, marginalized, and misrepresented by stereotypes in media and public education.
Landry painted contemporary portraits of his people, depicting them as they were. As one of his models said, ''We're so small and isolated here. People think we're so different. At one time, we had a bunch of kids from Raymond come down, and they wanted to know where our feathers were."
Gene was born in the village of Taholah on the Quinault Indian
Reservation. His biological mother was Hoh and his father was Quileute and Swedish. As an infant, he was adopted by Myrtle (Charley) and Fred Landry and raised at Georgetown, Myrtle's reservation.
Identity
As the only child of Myrtle and Fred Landry, Gene was well provided for and deeply loved. His biological-mother, Isabelle Hudson, a full-blooded Hoh, is remembered as having dark reddish-brown hair. His father, Austin Rosander, was half Quiliuette and half Swedish. Although Gene was adopted as a baby, he maintained ties with his biological family, who lived in Grays Harbor and the surrounding area.
Gene's appearance did not conform to expectations of what an Indian was "supposed to look like." His bright red hair (sometimes referred to as "Hoh River blond") made him stand out. In high school, he styled his hair like James Dean and drove a red 1937 hot rod Ford coupe. He was a gifted athlete, known for his running and boxing prowess, but he wasn't
allowed to run track because he refused to cut his hair.
Gene's art training was not traditional to his culture. He reached advanced levels in art at Aberdeen and Ocosta High Schools, but there were no practitioners of Native arts around to mentor him. He explored and developed his talent using the means available, based on Western European art traditions. He would go on to create art with a native sensibility, using the tools available.
Art Student
Gene trained himself to use his non-dominant left hand to paint. In 1961, he enrolled at the Leon F. Derbyshire School of Fine Arts in Seattle. There was no wheelchair access, so Gene had to be carried up the stairs to the second floor classroom.
In 1962 Gene studied with noted Northwest sculptor Philip Levine at his Phoenix Gallery in Seattle. By 1964, Gene was showing his work and winning acclaim in the Pacific Northwest. Over the next four years, he exhibited at the Frye Museum, the West Coast Annual at the Seattle Civic Center, The Edmonds and Anacortes Art Festivals, and the La Grande All Indian Arts Festivals.
Gene met Sharon Billingsley, a model and painter who attended classes at Derbyshire, and they struck up a friendship that led to romance. The couple could often be found sketching street scenes side by side, Gene in his wheelchair, Sharon next to him on a folding stool.
Gene and Sharon married in California on May 28, 1965. They went to Paris to study art, then returned to the Northwest, living in Seattle, Tacoma, and Georgetown until their marriage ended in 1972.
Back to Georgetown, Washington
In the late l960s, Landry moved back to the Shoalwater Bay Reservation. He set up a studio inside a small cabin that had been moved to the reservation from North Cove's at Washaway Beach. A wheel chair ramp and wrap-around deck made it accessible for plein air painting. Situated on the shore of Shoalwater Bay, Gene painted still-lives utilizing objects that washed in on the tides: glass fishing floats, discolored rope, old bones, shells and feathers.
He also painted still lifes and portraits in oil, using his family and friends as models. These works span a pivotal time in the tribe's history, from near termination to federal recognition.
Fifty years have passed since Gene painted Winona Weber's portrait. When asked why Landry's art matters today, she replied:
“I am a historian at heart. Gene's art is part of our history. Also, a talent like his really deserves to be acknowledged. When I was working with the women's history project, I said I was happy to be breaking some stereotypes of native women. A woman said it should just be commonplace. But first you have to be visible to be usual. I would like to see Gene visible."
Later Years
Gene traveled throughout the Southwest, spending time in New Mexico and Arizona. He traveled to Mexico and the Philippines seeking native healers to help with his deteriorating health. He eventually lost function in his left arm but continued to make art, holding the brush in his teeth to reach higher places on the canvas.
In 1980 Gene moved to Santa Barbara. His house, perched on a bluff overlooking the sea, was filled with art, his own and others. He opened a gallery downtown and championed the work of local artists. In the mid 80s his business partner-who was also his care giver unexpectedly died. His own health declining, Gene returned to his parent's home on the reservation.
Gene Landry died April 7, 1988 at age 51. He is buried next to Myrtle Landry and his relations in the Indian section at Sunset Memorial in Hoquiam, Washington. The Shoalwater Bay Tribe’s Na ‘m ‘sc ‘ac Heritage Museum is located on the former site of the cabin and dome.
Illness, November 1955
The illness came without warning. When 17-year-old Gene suddenly lost consciousness, his parents wrapped him in blankets and drove two hours to Cushman Indian Hospital in Tacoma. There were closer facilities for emergency care, but they did not provide Indian Health services. Gene remained a patient at Cushman for two and a half years, undergoing treatment for tubercular meningitis. The disease paralyzed his legs, and he endured grueling physical therapy, but he continued to work on paintings from a hospital bed.
Gene's parents moved to Tacoma to be closer to the hospital. When Myrtle Landry raised concerns about his condition and the poor care, Gene was abruptly discharged. Myrtle Landry (Washington Women's Heritage Project 1980):
"One doctor said, 'Why don't you just go and leave him and forget about him?' I said, 'Just who do you think you're talking to anyway?' I said, 'I got feelings, even though I'm a full blood Indian, I got feelings.' He said, 'Well, he'll never amount to anything.' I said, 'Well, I'm sure as heck not gonna let him die here.' And boy I raised Cain with 'em. So they told us one day, 'You get out.'
And then the State decided they could do more for him than I could." The decision proved tragic. At a rehabilitation facility on Bainbridge Island, Gene fell while being moved by attendants and suffered a spinal injury. He lost the use of his right arm and the possibility of ever walking again. He was 21 years old.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart
Stuttgart (Swabian: Schduagert) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known locally as the "Stuttgart Cauldron." It lies an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest. Its urban area has a population of 609,219, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the city's administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany. The city and metropolitan area are consistently ranked among the top 20 European metropolitan areas by GDP; Mercer listed Stuttgart as 21st on its 2015 list of cities by quality of living, innovation agency 2thinknow ranked the city 24th globally out of 442 cities and the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked the city as a Beta-status world city in their 2014 survey.
Since the 6th millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 83 AD and built a massive castrum near Bad Cannstatt, making it the most important regional centre for several centuries. Stuttgart's roots were truly laid in the 10th century with its founding by Liudolf, Duke of Swabia, as a stud farm for his warhorses. Initially overshadowed by nearby Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in 1320. The fortunes of Stuttgart turned with those of the House of Württemberg, and they made it the capital of their county, duchy, and kingdom from the 15th century to 1918. Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the Thirty Years' War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city and its automobile production during World War II. However, by 1952, the city had bounced back and it became the major economic, industrial, tourism and publishing centre it is today.
Stuttgart is also a transport junction, and possesses the sixth-largest airport in Germany. Several major companies are headquartered in Stuttgart, including Porsche, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, and Dinkelacker.
Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. It is spread across a variety of hills (some of them covered in vineyards), valleys (especially around the Neckar river and the Stuttgart basin) and parks. This often surprises visitors who associate the city with its reputation as the "cradle of the automobile". The city's tourism slogan is "Stuttgart offers more". Under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure (as part of the Stuttgart 21 project), the city unveiled a new logo and slogan in March 2008 describing itself as "Das neue Herz Europas" ("The new Heart of Europe"). For business, it describes itself as "Where business meets the future". In July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area.
Stuttgart is a city with a high number of immigrants. According to Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany, "In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner." 40% of Stuttgart's residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five, are of immigrant background.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staatstheater_Stuttgart
The Staatstheater Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Theatre) are a multi-branch-theatre with the branches Oper Stuttgart (Opera Stuttgart), Stuttgart Ballet (Stuttgarter Ballett) and Stuttgart Drama Theatre (Schauspiel Stuttgart) in Stuttgart, Germany. The state that its name refers to is Baden-Württemberg.
Powis Castle (Welsh: Castell Powys) is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former having been described as "the most important", and the latter "the most magnificent", in the country. The castle and gardens are under the care of the National Trust. Powis Castle is a Grade I listed building, while its gardens have their own Grade I listing on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
The present castle was built in the 13th century. Unusually for a castle on the Marches, it was constructed by a Welsh prince, Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, rather than by a Norman baron. Gruffydd was prince of the ancient Kingdom of Powys and maintained an alliance with the English king Edward I during the struggles of the later 13th century. He was able to secure the position of his son, Owain, although the kingdom itself was abolished by the Parliament of Shrewsbury in 1283. After his father's death, Owain was raised to the peerage as Owen de la Pole, 1st Lord of Powis. Following his own death c. 1293, and the death of his only son, he was succeeded by his daughter, Hawys Gadarn, "the Lady of Powis". Hawys married Sir John Charlton in 1309.
In the late 16th century the castle was purchased by Sir Edward Herbert, a younger son of William Herbert, 1st earl of Pembroke, beginning a connection between the family and the castle that continues today. The Herberts remained Roman Catholic until the 18th century and, although rising in the peerage to earls, marquesses and Jacobite dukes of Powis, suffered periods of imprisonment and exile. Despite these setbacks, they were able in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to transform Powis from a border fortress into an aristocratic country house, and surround it with one of the very few extant examples of a British Baroque garden.
In 1784 Henrietta Herbert married Edward Clive, eldest son of Clive of India, a match which replenished the much-depleted Herbert family fortune. In the early 20th century, George Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis, redeveloped the castle with the assistance of the architect George Frederick Bodley. Herbert’s wife, Violet, undertook work of equal importance in the garden, seeking to turn it into "one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, in England and Wales". On the 4th Earl's death in 1952, his wife and his sons having predeceased him, the castle passed into the care of the National Trust.
History
First castles at Welshpool: 1111–1286
Unlike the castles at Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech and nearby Montgomery, which were built by the English to subdue the Welsh, the castles at Welshpool were built by the Welsh princes of Powys Wenwynwyn as their dynastic seat.[1] In addition to the current site, two motte-and-bailey castles and a set of earthworks are located nearby.[2] The names Trallwg/Tallwm and Pola are used interchangeably in early primary sources, and it is unclear which of these sites is being referred to.[3]
The earliest reference dates from 1111, when Cadwgan ap Bleddyn is mentioned as having planned to construct a castle at Trallwng Llywelyn,[3] the oldest record of a native Welsh castle.[4] Domen Castell, a motte-and-bailey near the modern railway station, is considered the most likely site of Cadwgan's castle, although it is uncertain whether it was completed as he was assassinated the same year.[5] The first documentary account of an extant castle at Welshpool is a description of the successful 1196 siege by an English army, although the castle was retaken by the Welsh within the year.[5][6]
The earliest castle at the current site may have been a timber building constructed by Owain Cyfeiliog or his son, Gwenwynwyn (r. 1197–1216).[7] The present masonry structure contains 13th-century fabric,[8] most likely the work of Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn (r. 1241–1287) – although historians are uncertain when this took place.[a][10] In 1274, Gruffydd's "first castle" at Welshpool was destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd as punishment for his involvement in a scheme to assassinate Llywelyn.[b] The castle was documented again in 1286, when it was listed amongst Gruffydd's possessions as "la Pole Castr".[12] A detailed examination of Powis Castle's extant masonry carried out between 1987 and 1989 revealed early stonework incorporated into the later structure, putatively the remains of an early stone shell keep.[13] At the end of Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282–83, the king permitted Gruffydd to rebuild his castle at Welshpool as a reward for his loyalty.[14]
Early history: 1286–1644
Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury[c]
In 1286, four years after the conquest of Wales, Gruffydd's son, Owain ap Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn became the last hereditary prince of Powys when he renounced his royal title, and was granted the barony of de la Pole, (i.e. "of the Pool", a reference to Welshpool, formerly called just "Pool").[d][16][17] The ancient Kingdom of Powys had once included the counties of Montgomeryshire, much of Denbighshire, parts of Radnorshire and large areas of Shropshire, but by the 13th century had been reduced to two independent principalities – Powys Wenwynwyn and Powys Fadog – roughly equivalent to Montgomeryshire and South Denbighshire (plus Maelor Saesneg), respectively; Welshpool had become the capital of Powys Wenwynwyn, of which Owain had been heir. On the death of Owain, the castle passed to his daughter Hawys, who married Sir John Charlton.[17] The Charltons continued to live at Powis until the fifteenth century when two daughters, Joyce Tiptoft and Joan Grey inherited the castle and estates. Both were equally divided, each daughter and her husband living in a portion of the castle.[18]
In 1578 an illegitimate son of the last Baron Grey of Powis, began leasing the lordship and castle to a distant relative – Sir Edward Herbert (d. 1595), second son of Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Edward eventually bought the castle outright in 1587, beginning the connection between the Herberts and Powis Castle which continues today.[19] Sir Edward's wife was a Roman Catholic and the family's allegiance to Rome and to the Stuart kings was to shape its destiny for over a century.[16] Sir Edward began the transformation of Powis from a border fortress into an Elizabethan country house. The major remaining element of his work is the Long Gallery.[19]
Herbert's descendent William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis (c. 1573–1655), was a supporter of Charles I, and was granted the barony of Powis in 1629.[19] His loyalty during the English Civil War cost him his castle and his estates.[20] On 22 October 1644 Powis Castle was captured by Parliamentary troops and was not returned to the family until the restoration of Charles II in 1660.[21]
The Herberts: 1660–1800
The Hercules statue which stood originally in the Water Garden
On the restoration, the Herberts returned to Powis, and in 1674 William Herbert (c. 1626–1696) was created Earl of Powis (of the first creation). The state bedroom was installed in about 1665 and further improvements, including the construction of the Great Staircase followed in the 1670s. These developments were most probably carried out under the direction of William Winde, who may also have designed the terraced gardens. His employer, although restored to his estates, and raised in the peerage, was barred by his Catholic faith from high office under Charles II. On the accession of the King's brother, James in 1685, Herbert became one of the new king's chief ministers, and was again advanced in the peerage becoming Marquess of Powis in 1687, but fell at the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and followed James into exile in France.[e] William III granted the castle to his nephew, William Nassau de Zuylestein, 1st Earl of Rochford. Herbert died, still in exile, in 1696.[24]
Despite their 30-year exile, the Herberts were able to continue with developments at the castle and even to live there on an irregular basis, the Baroque water garden below the castle being completed at this time.[25] Their fortunes were also materially improved by the discovery of a lucrative lead mine on their Welsh estates.[24] The second Marquess, also William, was reinstated in 1722. On the death of his son, the third Marquess in 1748, the marquessate became extinct, while the castle and estates passed to a relative, Henry Herbert (c. 1703–1772), of Oakly Park in Shropshire, who was made 1st Earl of Powis (of the second creation) by George II.[26] Herbert married Barbara, the fifteen-year-old granddaughter of the 2nd Marquess, in 1751. Their eldest son, George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis (1755–1801), died unmarried and the earldom of the second creation became extinct.[f][27] Powis was much neglected during his tenure. John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington, a diarist and traveller who chronicled his journeys into Wales in the 1780s and 1790s, described the castle in 1784, "In the gardens not even the fruit is attended to; the balustrades and terraces are falling down, and the horses graze on the parterres!!!"[28] The castle itself was in no better condition, a visitor in 1774 describing it as "in Neglect and Ruin".[27] Nonetheless, the potential of the site was recognised. George Lyttelton, the politician, poet and essayist, recorded his impressions in 1756, "About £3,000 laid out upon Powis Castle would make it the most august place in the Kingdom."[29]
The Clives and Herberts: 1801–1952
The Outer Courtyard with the Fame statue in the foreground
In 1784, Henry Herbert's daughter, Henrietta, married Edward Clive (1754–1839), the eldest son of Clive of India.[30] Clive had followed his father to India, and served as Governor of Madras. Henrietta's brother died in 1801, whereupon the title lapsed; in 1804, her husband was created first Earl of Powis (of the third creation). The Clive fortune paid for long overdue repairs to the castle, which were carried out by Sir Robert Smirke.[31][32] Their son, Edward (1785–1848), inherited his late uncle's Powis estates on his 21st birthday, taking the surname Herbert in compliance with his uncle's will.[30] Edward Herbert served in a range of administrations as an Anti-Catholic Tory, his speeches in the House of Commons being "cautious and pertinent, although marred by dull delivery". He died in 1848, following a shooting accident at Powis in which he was fatally injured by his second son.[33] No further major changes were made to the Powis estate during his time, or in the long tenure of his eldest son Edward Herbert, 3rd Earl of Powis (1818–1891), although the castle was well maintained. In honour of his great-grandfather, the earl was offered the viceroyalty of India by Benjamin Disraeli but declined, writing "Not worth considering. Powis" on the envelope containing the invitation.[34]
The final alterations to Powis Castle were undertaken at the beginning of the 20th century by George Frederick Bodley for George Charles Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis (1862–1952). The rooms designed by Bodley remain his only extant decorative scheme; the longevity of the 4th Earl, the deaths of his heirs, and his bequest of the castle to the National Trust saw the early 20th-century remodelling remain largely unaltered.[g][36] The 4th earl's wife, Violet (nee Lane-Fox), undertook the final transformation of the gardens of Powis Castle, which she felt had the potential to be "the most beautiful in England and Wales".[37] The Countess died following a car accident in 1929, and Lord Powis outlived both his sons, who died on active service, Percy from wounds received at the Battle of the Somme in 1916,[38] and Mervyn in a plane crash in 1943.[39] On his own death in 1952, he bequeathed the castle and gardens to the National Trust.[h][42]
The National Trust: 1952–present
The 4th earl was succeeded by his cousin, Edward Herbert, 5th Earl of Powis (1889–1974). Edward's heir was Christian Herbert, 6th Earl of Powis (1904–1988). He was succeeded by his cousin, George Herbert, 7th Earl of Powis (1925–1993),[42] who was in turn succeeded by his son, John, the 8th and current Earl.[43] The Herbert family continue to live in part of the castle, under an arrangement with the National Trust.[44] The Trust has undertaken a number of major works of restoration during its ownership, including the Marquess Gate,[45] the Grand Staircase,[46] and the sculpture of Fame in the Outer Courtyard.[i][47] The castle and its gardens receive around 200,000 visitors annually. Wikipedia
I couldn't resist orbing the stained glass abstract! 8-)
Created at The Regency, Laguna Woods, California. © 2014 All Rights Reserved.
My images are not to be used, copied, edited, or blogged without my explicit permission.
Please!! NO Glittery Awards or Large Graphics...Buddy Icons are OK. Thank You!
TGIF! HFF! And all such initials! My Flickr friends, thanks so much for showing up and sharing!
I have been able to get to some of you and leave a comment. I'll get to more of you,
slowly, a little at a time. My arm improves a little each day and I don't want a setback!
Built in 1929, this Art Deco-style tower was designed by Philip Maher, and stands 16 stories tall. The building is clad in limestone panels with vertical window bays, many of which feature recessed fluted spandrel panels in a darker material, arched window bays on the second floor, an aluminum canopy over the front entrance, steel casement windows, setbacks at the corners at the 14th floor and 15th floor, buff brick cladding on the south and west facades, a fire escape mounted to the west facade, and a rear light court. The building is a contributing structure in the Gold Coast Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Powis Castle (Welsh: Castell Powys) is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former having been described as "the most important", and the latter "the most magnificent", in the country. The castle and gardens are under the care of the National Trust. Powis Castle is a Grade I listed building, while its gardens have their own Grade I listing on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
The present castle was built in the 13th century. Unusually for a castle on the Marches, it was constructed by a Welsh prince, Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, rather than by a Norman baron. Gruffydd was prince of the ancient Kingdom of Powys and maintained an alliance with the English king Edward I during the struggles of the later 13th century. He was able to secure the position of his son, Owain, although the kingdom itself was abolished by the Parliament of Shrewsbury in 1283. After his father's death, Owain was raised to the peerage as Owen de la Pole, 1st Lord of Powis. Following his own death c. 1293, and the death of his only son, he was succeeded by his daughter, Hawys Gadarn, "the Lady of Powis". Hawys married Sir John Charlton in 1309.
In the late 16th century the castle was purchased by Sir Edward Herbert, a younger son of William Herbert, 1st earl of Pembroke, beginning a connection between the family and the castle that continues today. The Herberts remained Roman Catholic until the 18th century and, although rising in the peerage to earls, marquesses and Jacobite dukes of Powis, suffered periods of imprisonment and exile. Despite these setbacks, they were able in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to transform Powis from a border fortress into an aristocratic country house, and surround it with one of the very few extant examples of a British Baroque garden.
In 1784 Henrietta Herbert married Edward Clive, eldest son of Clive of India, a match which replenished the much-depleted Herbert family fortune. In the early 20th century, George Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis, redeveloped the castle with the assistance of the architect George Frederick Bodley. Herbert’s wife, Violet, undertook work of equal importance in the garden, seeking to turn it into "one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, in England and Wales". On the 4th Earl's death in 1952, his wife and his sons having predeceased him, the castle passed into the care of the National Trust.
History
First castles at Welshpool: 1111–1286
Unlike the castles at Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech and nearby Montgomery, which were built by the English to subdue the Welsh, the castles at Welshpool were built by the Welsh princes of Powys Wenwynwyn as their dynastic seat.[1] In addition to the current site, two motte-and-bailey castles and a set of earthworks are located nearby.[2] The names Trallwg/Tallwm and Pola are used interchangeably in early primary sources, and it is unclear which of these sites is being referred to.[3]
The earliest reference dates from 1111, when Cadwgan ap Bleddyn is mentioned as having planned to construct a castle at Trallwng Llywelyn,[3] the oldest record of a native Welsh castle.[4] Domen Castell, a motte-and-bailey near the modern railway station, is considered the most likely site of Cadwgan's castle, although it is uncertain whether it was completed as he was assassinated the same year.[5] The first documentary account of an extant castle at Welshpool is a description of the successful 1196 siege by an English army, although the castle was retaken by the Welsh within the year.[5][6]
The earliest castle at the current site may have been a timber building constructed by Owain Cyfeiliog or his son, Gwenwynwyn (r. 1197–1216).[7] The present masonry structure contains 13th-century fabric,[8] most likely the work of Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn (r. 1241–1287) – although historians are uncertain when this took place.[a][10] In 1274, Gruffydd's "first castle" at Welshpool was destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd as punishment for his involvement in a scheme to assassinate Llywelyn.[b] The castle was documented again in 1286, when it was listed amongst Gruffydd's possessions as "la Pole Castr".[12] A detailed examination of Powis Castle's extant masonry carried out between 1987 and 1989 revealed early stonework incorporated into the later structure, putatively the remains of an early stone shell keep.[13] At the end of Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282–83, the king permitted Gruffydd to rebuild his castle at Welshpool as a reward for his loyalty.[14]
Early history: 1286–1644
Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury[c]
In 1286, four years after the conquest of Wales, Gruffydd's son, Owain ap Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn became the last hereditary prince of Powys when he renounced his royal title, and was granted the barony of de la Pole, (i.e. "of the Pool", a reference to Welshpool, formerly called just "Pool").[d][16][17] The ancient Kingdom of Powys had once included the counties of Montgomeryshire, much of Denbighshire, parts of Radnorshire and large areas of Shropshire, but by the 13th century had been reduced to two independent principalities – Powys Wenwynwyn and Powys Fadog – roughly equivalent to Montgomeryshire and South Denbighshire (plus Maelor Saesneg), respectively; Welshpool had become the capital of Powys Wenwynwyn, of which Owain had been heir. On the death of Owain, the castle passed to his daughter Hawys, who married Sir John Charlton.[17] The Charltons continued to live at Powis until the fifteenth century when two daughters, Joyce Tiptoft and Joan Grey inherited the castle and estates. Both were equally divided, each daughter and her husband living in a portion of the castle.[18]
In 1578 an illegitimate son of the last Baron Grey of Powis, began leasing the lordship and castle to a distant relative – Sir Edward Herbert (d. 1595), second son of Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Edward eventually bought the castle outright in 1587, beginning the connection between the Herberts and Powis Castle which continues today.[19] Sir Edward's wife was a Roman Catholic and the family's allegiance to Rome and to the Stuart kings was to shape its destiny for over a century.[16] Sir Edward began the transformation of Powis from a border fortress into an Elizabethan country house. The major remaining element of his work is the Long Gallery.[19]
Herbert's descendent William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis (c. 1573–1655), was a supporter of Charles I, and was granted the barony of Powis in 1629.[19] His loyalty during the English Civil War cost him his castle and his estates.[20] On 22 October 1644 Powis Castle was captured by Parliamentary troops and was not returned to the family until the restoration of Charles II in 1660.[21]
The Herberts: 1660–1800
The Hercules statue which stood originally in the Water Garden
On the restoration, the Herberts returned to Powis, and in 1674 William Herbert (c. 1626–1696) was created Earl of Powis (of the first creation). The state bedroom was installed in about 1665 and further improvements, including the construction of the Great Staircase followed in the 1670s. These developments were most probably carried out under the direction of William Winde, who may also have designed the terraced gardens. His employer, although restored to his estates, and raised in the peerage, was barred by his Catholic faith from high office under Charles II. On the accession of the King's brother, James in 1685, Herbert became one of the new king's chief ministers, and was again advanced in the peerage becoming Marquess of Powis in 1687, but fell at the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and followed James into exile in France.[e] William III granted the castle to his nephew, William Nassau de Zuylestein, 1st Earl of Rochford. Herbert died, still in exile, in 1696.[24]
Despite their 30-year exile, the Herberts were able to continue with developments at the castle and even to live there on an irregular basis, the Baroque water garden below the castle being completed at this time.[25] Their fortunes were also materially improved by the discovery of a lucrative lead mine on their Welsh estates.[24] The second Marquess, also William, was reinstated in 1722. On the death of his son, the third Marquess in 1748, the marquessate became extinct, while the castle and estates passed to a relative, Henry Herbert (c. 1703–1772), of Oakly Park in Shropshire, who was made 1st Earl of Powis (of the second creation) by George II.[26] Herbert married Barbara, the fifteen-year-old granddaughter of the 2nd Marquess, in 1751. Their eldest son, George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis (1755–1801), died unmarried and the earldom of the second creation became extinct.[f][27] Powis was much neglected during his tenure. John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington, a diarist and traveller who chronicled his journeys into Wales in the 1780s and 1790s, described the castle in 1784, "In the gardens not even the fruit is attended to; the balustrades and terraces are falling down, and the horses graze on the parterres!!!"[28] The castle itself was in no better condition, a visitor in 1774 describing it as "in Neglect and Ruin".[27] Nonetheless, the potential of the site was recognised. George Lyttelton, the politician, poet and essayist, recorded his impressions in 1756, "About £3,000 laid out upon Powis Castle would make it the most august place in the Kingdom."[29]
The Clives and Herberts: 1801–1952
The Outer Courtyard with the Fame statue in the foreground
In 1784, Henry Herbert's daughter, Henrietta, married Edward Clive (1754–1839), the eldest son of Clive of India.[30] Clive had followed his father to India, and served as Governor of Madras. Henrietta's brother died in 1801, whereupon the title lapsed; in 1804, her husband was created first Earl of Powis (of the third creation). The Clive fortune paid for long overdue repairs to the castle, which were carried out by Sir Robert Smirke.[31][32] Their son, Edward (1785–1848), inherited his late uncle's Powis estates on his 21st birthday, taking the surname Herbert in compliance with his uncle's will.[30] Edward Herbert served in a range of administrations as an Anti-Catholic Tory, his speeches in the House of Commons being "cautious and pertinent, although marred by dull delivery". He died in 1848, following a shooting accident at Powis in which he was fatally injured by his second son.[33] No further major changes were made to the Powis estate during his time, or in the long tenure of his eldest son Edward Herbert, 3rd Earl of Powis (1818–1891), although the castle was well maintained. In honour of his great-grandfather, the earl was offered the viceroyalty of India by Benjamin Disraeli but declined, writing "Not worth considering. Powis" on the envelope containing the invitation.[34]
The final alterations to Powis Castle were undertaken at the beginning of the 20th century by George Frederick Bodley for George Charles Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis (1862–1952). The rooms designed by Bodley remain his only extant decorative scheme; the longevity of the 4th Earl, the deaths of his heirs, and his bequest of the castle to the National Trust saw the early 20th-century remodelling remain largely unaltered.[g][36] The 4th earl's wife, Violet (nee Lane-Fox), undertook the final transformation of the gardens of Powis Castle, which she felt had the potential to be "the most beautiful in England and Wales".[37] The Countess died following a car accident in 1929, and Lord Powis outlived both his sons, who died on active service, Percy from wounds received at the Battle of the Somme in 1916,[38] and Mervyn in a plane crash in 1943.[39] On his own death in 1952, he bequeathed the castle and gardens to the National Trust.[h][42]
The National Trust: 1952–present
The 4th earl was succeeded by his cousin, Edward Herbert, 5th Earl of Powis (1889–1974). Edward's heir was Christian Herbert, 6th Earl of Powis (1904–1988). He was succeeded by his cousin, George Herbert, 7th Earl of Powis (1925–1993),[42] who was in turn succeeded by his son, John, the 8th and current Earl.[43] The Herbert family continue to live in part of the castle, under an arrangement with the National Trust.[44] The Trust has undertaken a number of major works of restoration during its ownership, including the Marquess Gate,[45] the Grand Staircase,[46] and the sculpture of Fame in the Outer Courtyard.[i][47] The castle and its gardens receive around 200,000 visitors annually. Wikipedia
Our plan, to drive from Mefjordbotn to Mefjord Brygge, suffered a small setback when the road was closed and we instead had to circumnavigate Senja (via Sorli). We were rewarded with some beautiful scenery.
"At first, it was going well…then setback after setback…loss after loss…made what was going to be a quick and decisive win…into five long years of hell."
--Captain James Cutter on The Battle of Harvest
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart
Stuttgart (Swabian: Schduagert) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known locally as the "Stuttgart Cauldron." It lies an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest. Its urban area has a population of 609,219, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the city's administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany. The city and metropolitan area are consistently ranked among the top 20 European metropolitan areas by GDP; Mercer listed Stuttgart as 21st on its 2015 list of cities by quality of living, innovation agency 2thinknow ranked the city 24th globally out of 442 cities and the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked the city as a Beta-status world city in their 2014 survey.
Since the 6th millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 83 AD and built a massive castrum near Bad Cannstatt, making it the most important regional centre for several centuries. Stuttgart's roots were truly laid in the 10th century with its founding by Liudolf, Duke of Swabia, as a stud farm for his warhorses. Initially overshadowed by nearby Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in 1320. The fortunes of Stuttgart turned with those of the House of Württemberg, and they made it the capital of their county, duchy, and kingdom from the 15th century to 1918. Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the Thirty Years' War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city and its automobile production during World War II. However, by 1952, the city had bounced back and it became the major economic, industrial, tourism and publishing centre it is today.
Stuttgart is also a transport junction, and possesses the sixth-largest airport in Germany. Several major companies are headquartered in Stuttgart, including Porsche, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, and Dinkelacker.
Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. It is spread across a variety of hills (some of them covered in vineyards), valleys (especially around the Neckar river and the Stuttgart basin) and parks. This often surprises visitors who associate the city with its reputation as the "cradle of the automobile". The city's tourism slogan is "Stuttgart offers more". Under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure (as part of the Stuttgart 21 project), the city unveiled a new logo and slogan in March 2008 describing itself as "Das neue Herz Europas" ("The new Heart of Europe"). For business, it describes itself as "Where business meets the future". In July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area.
Stuttgart is a city with a high number of immigrants. According to Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany, "In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner." 40% of Stuttgart's residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five, are of immigrant background.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannstatter_Volksfest
The Cannstatter Volksfest is an annual three-week Volksfest (beer festival and travelling funfair) in Stuttgart, Germany. It is sometimes also referred to by foreign visitors as the Stuttgart Beer Festival, although it is actually more of an autumnal fair.
The festival takes place at the Cannstatter Wasen from late September to early October, spanning a period over three weekends, ending the second Sunday in October. The extensive Wasen area is in the Stuttgart city district of Bad Cannstatt, near the river Neckar. A smaller variant of the Stuttgart festival, the Stuttgart Spring Festival, is also held each year in Wasen.
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too."
-- President-elect Barack Obama 11/4/08
Our plan, to drive from Mefjordbotn to Mefjord Brygge, suffered a small setback when the road was closed and we instead had to circumnavigate Senja (via Sorli). We were rewarded with some beautiful scenery.
EXPLORED 2 Jun, 2010 #49
© Copyright SVETAN Photography™ - All rights reserved.
Houston, TX, Downtown
Bank Of America Center.
The Bank of America Center is a highrise representing one of the first significant examples of postmodern architecture construction in downtown Houston, Texas. Formerly the RepublicBank Center, NCNB Center, and NationsBank Center the building was completed in October 1983, and designed by award winning architect Phillip Johnson and partner John Burgee and is reminiscent of the Dutch Gothic architecture of canal houses in The Netherlands. It has three segmented tower setbacks, each with " a steeply pitched gabled roofline that is topped off with spires". The tower was developed by Hines Interests and is owned by a joint venture of M-M Properties and an affiliate of the General Electric Pension Trust.
At 56 stories the Bank of America Center is the 51st tallest building in the United States and is the seventh tallest building in Texas..
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8
Single RAW HDR.
Processing:
LR2 - 6 exported JPEGs (step 1 in Exposure);
HDR rendering in Dynamic Photo HDR .
Curves, framing, watermark: CS3
The north tower of my LEGO model of the Guardian Building has now reached the 32nd story of it full the 40 story height. It is currently 6.5 feet (2 meters) high and the eight modular sections currently weight in aggregate 147 pounds (66.8 Kg).
I am now reaching the very detailed top stories. Unfortunately, I have had to simplify the number of brick-built setbacks at this scale. This model has taken far longer than any other LEGO building. Nevertheless I should have it done for this fall's display at the Henry Ford Museum.
--------------------------------------------
One from my second roll of home developed film. This time I used HP5+ (shot at box speed) instead of Kodak Tri-X. Unfortunately, I had a really difficult time getting the roll onto the developing reel. It was very hot / humid and the roll started to stick together. I was able to pull it apart, but as you can image, this left the film in a heavily scratched state. This is one of the few relatively unaffected frames. Despite this setback, I'm very pleased with the look of Ilford HP5+. Next on my list is Fujifilm Acros 100.
Nikon F80 / Tokina 100mm f2.8 Macro / Ilford HP5+
Dev: Ilfosol-3 / Ilfostop / Ilford Rapid Fixer.
Scanning: Reflecta Proscan 7200 / Vuescan / Colorperfect
created for: Surrealart challenge "Setback"
Je n'aurais jamais du prendre cette vieille guimbarde, maintenant le chemin va être long !!!
Old Standard Oil Headquarters Building
architects: Francis H. Kimball, 1885
Thomas Hastings, 1921
Bowling Green, Manhattan
26 Broadway Avenue
New York, NY
Built between 1911 and 1914, Wrigley Field was originally known as Weeghman Park, and was designed by Zachary Taylor Davis for Charles Henry Weeghman as a baseball stadium for the Chicago Whales, members of the Federal League, which folded in 1915. Following this setback, Weeghman teamed up with a group of other wealthy members of Chicago society, notably among them William Wrigley, Jr., to purchase the Chicago Cubs from Charles P. Taft, whom were subsequently moved to the park for the 1916 season. The stadium became known as Cubs Park in 1920. In 1921, the Cubs were acquired outright by Wrigley, and the stadium was renamed Wrigley Field in 1926. Originally built with a 14,000-person capacity, the field was expanded to 40,000 seats in 1928, and has remained at around that capacity ever since, and saw the current field dimensions established during a renovation in 1937 that also added the famous ivy-covered outfield walls. The stadium has also, at other times, been home to the Chicago Bears, Chicago Cardinals, Chicago Sting, Chicago Tigers, and Hammond Pros. The stadium maintains a hand-operated scoreboard, several historic signs and marquees dating to the 1930s, and more modern video screens. The stadium has been home to hockey games, concerts, soccer, football, and other events during its long history. The stadium most recently underwent a round of renovations and improvements between 2013 and 2018, involving the construction of a 6-story office building and entry plaza to the west of the stadium, modernization of many facilities, addition of more seats to bring the capacity up to 41,649, maintenance of historic elements, and addition of more luxury seating. The stadium was listed as a Chicago Landmark in 2004, and was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 2020.
F-4 Phantom – 5195 units produced, 63 years of production/service, dozens of monographs, modelling plans, etc., what can go wrong? Well, actually quite many things. Still, after a few setbacks, here it is, my latest model
About the jet
The history of McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II started back in the mid 50’, with the first flight taking place on 27th May 1958. Initially, the F4H-1 (the initial designation before the tri-service unification) started as an unsolicited proposal from McDonnell Douglas, which actually didn’t get much interest. Only after the problems of other Navy fighters led to the necessity of acquiring a new general-purpose fighter, the Phantom as we know could get its chance. After winning the competition against the Vought’s F8U-3 Crusader III submission, the F4H-1 went to service in 1961, with a new designation of F-4B (starting in 1962). Even though F-4B was a revolutionary design for it time, it still had a number of deficiencies, with the most serious ones being slightly too high approach speed, and its AN-APQ-72 radar lacking the look-down, shoot-down capabilities, performing poorly against the ground clutter. As a consequence, after delivering 649 F-4B, in late 1966 McDonnell introduced a new, improved version – the F-4J. This version featured a revised and strengthened internal structure, more powerful J79-GE-10 engines (the smokeless, 10B version was introduced later in 1978), new, wider tires (resulting in bulges on the top part of the wings), a few aerodynamic improvements for decreasing the approach speed (changes to inboard leading edges and slotted stabilator), and most importantly, new AWG-10 radar, with solid-state elements and prominent look-down, shoot-down capabilities. The F-4J served through the Vietnam war until the late 70’, together with the F-4B, and later F-4N (upgraded F-4B). After that, starting from 1978, the selected 265 F-4J underwent an upgrade to F-4S standard (the initial idea was for 302, but the number was reduced), featuring smokeless J79-GE-10B engines, improved electronics, and leading-edge maneuvering slats, similar to those on USAF’s F-4E. In this variant, Phantoms served until 1987 in USN, and 1992 in USMC. In the meantime, 15 F-4J were also sold to UK, to fill the gap left by FGR. 2 Phantoms (F-4M) deployed to the Falkland Islands. These aircraft, known also as F-4J(UK) Phantom F.3s, served from 1984 to 1991. Interestingly, they were greatly appreciated by the RAF pilots, with most of them considering them superior to British Spey-engined variants, mainly due to the much faster response of the J-79 turbojets, in comparison to Rolls-Royce Spey 203 turbofans.
About the building process
While I’ve always appreciated the F-4, I was never a “Phantom Phanatic”. In fact, the idea for this model came to me by accident – I was a bit stuck with other projects, and thinking about different solutions, the idea that 2x3x1 curved slopes would make for an excellent Phantom fuselage went through my mind. I thought that these easy, boxy shapes of F-4 would make for a nice relax after the complex shapes of my F-14 and MiG-29, and so I started. Unfortunately, I made a huge mistake at the very beginning – I used the blueprints from the book, without validating their correctness first, which later cost me a lot of headaches.
Before going further, I should mention some of the F-4 models by other people, which were a huge inspiration to me. Of course, there is an excellent F-4B by Mad Physicist , a beautiful F-4B by Carl Greatrix , and a whole series of different F-4s by Justin Davies. However, from the viewpoint of my model, three Phantoms were of particular importance for me. The first one is F-4N by Jonah Padberg. Even though I’ve ended with a very different cockpit design, I’ve started with the modification of his 3-stud wide canopy and angled cockpit section. The next model, is a F-4B by Maks, who made an excellent, SNOT version of the Phantom, which to a large degree influenced some of my design choices. Lastly, there is a huge, 1/15 scale F-4J by crash_cramer, which might be my favorite LEGO model ever. Similarly as in the case of my F-14 Tomcat, I tried to emulate some of his techniques in a smaller scale.
The first assumption was to go for the 3-stud wide canopy, similarly as in my MiG-29. Such solution is much more accurate in this scale and makes the model look much more realistic in my opinion. In fact, I’m so pleased with the outcome here that I will likely rebuild my F-14 in near future to similar standard. The construction itself started with the wings. I’ve always came under impression that similarly to F-15, the angle for the leading edge is 45 degrees. Well, not really. Instead, the angle is 51 degrees, which effectively eliminates any plate-based solutions, leaving the brick-built wing as the only valid option. So instead of getting a nice, simple, sturdy 45 degrees wing, I had to go with a brick-built one, which combined with the main landing gear solution and folding mechanism, proved to be a nightmare. After figuring it out, the next challenge was to design the angled cockpit area. Here, the solutions from Jonah’s model were of great help. With those two pieces in place, the rest went relatively smoothly, leading to the stage presented in WiP pictures. And then, having 85% of a model ready, I checked the validity of my blueprints. I was able to get my hands on the original F-4 factory drawing on the Aviation Archives website, and all my drawings turned out to be off by a considerable margin. Fortunately, I’m not the only person dissatisfied by the quality of available blueprints, and I was able to find this awesome website, with a set of 100% accurate drawings, based on the factory ones, including the cross-sections. That was good news, the bad one was that my fuselage was too short, too high, and too wide. So I had to lower the whole fuselage by a plate, elongate it by 2 studs, and modify it from 10-stud wide, to 9-stud wide. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard, but after lowering the fuselage, it became evident that the angling of the front section is too steep. This, in turn, required a complete revision of the already most problematic section, consuming an awful lot of time. But after all these problems, I finally got a model, with which I am quite satisfied.
About the model
The model represents a McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II in a 1/33 scale. The camouflage is based on the F-4J from VF-96 squadron, BuNo. 155800, callsign “Showtime100”, deployed on the USS Constellation aircraft carrier in Vietnam, around 1972. This particular aircraft, on the 10th of May 1972, was credited with 3 MiG-17 kills, being flown by pilot Lt Randy Cunningham and RIO Lt(jg) Willy Driscoll. This effectively made them the only Navy aces of the Vietnam war, as they already had 2 kills on their account. You may also note that they flew a “borrowed” plane, as the name on the cockpit is that of Lowell “Gus” Eggert, who later commanded the USS Constellation from 1974 onward. As usual, the model possesses a number of features: openable cockpits, working flaps, foldable wings, working horizontal and vertical tails, retractable landing gear and tailhook. I’m rather pleased with the functionality, as most of the features, especially the landing gear, are much more reliable than in e.g. my MiG-29. The loadout comprises 4 AIM-7E Sparrows, 4 AIM-9G Sidewinders, and a centerline 600 gal. fuel tank. Also, under the wings, there are outboard pylons for two 370 gal. fuel tanks, which are visible on some of the photos. The credit for the stand design goes to Jerac. There is a small discrepancy in the camouflage – in principle nearly all USN phantoms had an all-white underside, with an exception of some late 80s’, extremely dull, low-vis versions. Unfortunately, due to the brick-built nature of the wing, I was unable to make them white on the bottom. For a moment, I contemplated utilizing huge white stickers, but it wouldn’t look all that great, and it would make the wings extremely modification-unfriendly. Still, the final effect is not that bad. So, please enjoy, and let me know what is your opinion on this model.
In the centre is One Times Square, a skyscraper originally designed by Cyrus Eidlitz in a neo-Gothic style and completed in 1905; re-clad in the 1960s with a glazed curtain wall (HLW). At right is the Paramount Building in a set-back deco style by the Rapp brothers, 1927. At Broadway and 7th Avenue, Manhattan, NYC.
(CC BY-SA credit: Images George Rex.)
Pour ceux qui l'apprécient, voici encore quelques clichés de little Boudha avant de passer au moulage et au coulage.
Toutes mes excuses pour le retard dans la production, j'ai eu quelques contretemps avec la poupée précédente. Si tout se passe bien, j'espère disposer des trois premières copies d'ici début septembre.
For those who like him, here are a few more snaps of little Buddha before we switch to the molding and casting process.
Concerning production, I am sorry for the delay. I have experienced a few setbacks with my previous doll. If everything goes well, the three first copies should be available around the start of september.
always tell someone how you feel...,
because opportunities are lost in the blink of an _eYe
but, regret can last for a lifetime.
you can set yourself free.. at
any moment
and sometimes the comeback is always
stronger than the setback
i know it won't be easy,
but, it'll definitely be wort it...!
remember, no road is long if it's with good company..& vice versa 😊
I don't mind being hated.
but I hate being misunderstood.
The Journey begins... Most of us are already having a difficult time with Covid 19. God willing, the situation will clear soon to avoid another setback. I have decided to use some of my favorite images to publish a book with my very best from flickr. Hopefully I can get some returns so as to cover my costs for self promo in order to extend my interests in photography. How else will I breathe for the future?Some of the spreads are featured here. Hopefully it will give some interests to those who are looking for a special gift to their customers for a change and in a way allow me to find my way to my dreams. I can always arrange to have the sponsor to take the front few pages to advertise their messages. Just hope that it works for me this time. Images seen here are full copyright from my flickr stream.
Facebook link
Barrow / Villa Rodriguez
El paraje Barrow que comenzó en la estación de ferrocarril, sufrió un revés una vez que las locomotoras dejaron de circular, dejando recuerdos, viviendas y muchos sueños que quedaron truncos, como el de crecer a la vera de los rieles.
1886, cuando los caminos de hierro se extendían en la provincia como un elemento indispensable de subsistencia del país, las líneas férreas ya cruzaban la zona de la localidad de Barrow, que por ese entonces se denominaba Empalme. En 1907, se crea la estación, como consecuencia del tendido de la línea férrea a Lobería. Su nombre fue un homenaje a M.W. Barrow, gerente de la empresa Ferrocarril del Sud (actual Ferrocarril General Roca), entre 1890-1892 y que sin proponérselo se había convertido en el artífice de tantos pueblos de la provincia. La distinción le llegó en la época en que los ingleses habían decidido reconocer los servicios prestados por los miembros de esa colectividad relacionados con el desarrollo de los rieles en la República Argentina. Así, bregaron para que el gobierno nacional decretara en la fecha del 50º del primer ferrocarril argentino, el 30 de agosto de 1907, el cambio de nombre de algunas estaciones, como la de Barrow, reconociendo al hombre que alcanzó un poder ilimitado como gerente del Ferrocarril, ocupando infinidad de funciones y cargos, siguiendo un espíritu visionario que llevó al crecimiento del país. Durante su gerencia, M.W. Barrow había estudiado la idea de instalar nuevos y modernos talleres para las operaciones del Ferrocarril del Sud que tomaban cada día mayor incremento. En las frecuentes visitas que realizaba a los talleres notaba que las operaciones se realizaban en un estrecho círculo y en instalaciones completamente inadecuadas que imposibilitaban la libre tarea de los mil operarios. Y desde entonces dedicó toda su energía a procurar la formación de instalaciones modernas que se ajustaran a la realidad.
Postulaba Alberdi, unieron los FF.CC. al país más que la Constitución Nacional y permitió la aparición de núcleos urbanos integrados, que fueron punto de reunión, de encuentro social y de vida.
TRASLATOR
Barrow / Villa Rodriguez
The Barrow spot that started at the railway station suffered a setback once the locomotives stopped circulating, leaving memories, homes and many dreams that were truncated, such as growing alongside the rails.
1886, when the iron roads extended in the province like an indispensable element of subsistence of the country, the railway lines already crossed the zone of the locality of Barrow, that by that then was denominated Empalme. In 1907, the station was created, as a consequence of the laying of the railway line to Lobería. His name was a tribute to M.W. Barrow, manager of the company Ferrocarril del Sud (current General Roca Railroad), between 1890-1892 and who had unwittingly become the architect of so many towns in the province. The distinction came at the time when the English had decided to recognize the services provided by the members of that group related to the development of the rails in the Argentine Republic. Thus, they struggled for the national government to decree on the date of the 50th of the first Argentine railway, on August 30, 1907, the change of name of some stations, such as Barrow, recognizing the man who achieved unlimited power as manager of the Railroad, occupying countless functions and positions, following a visionary spirit that led to the growth of the country. During his management, M.W. Barrow had studied the idea of installing new and modern workshops for the operations of the Southern Railway, which were increasing every day. In the frequent visits he made to the workshops he noticed that the operations were carried out in a narrow circle and in completely inadequate facilities that made impossible the free task of the thousand workers. And since then he devoted all his energy to procuring the formation of modern facilities that fit the reality.
Postulated Alberdi, joined the FF.CC. the country more than the National Constitution and allowed the emergence of integrated urban centers, which were a meeting point, social meeting and life.
Eugene Landry (Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe 1932-1988.)
Oil on canvas
16" x 12"
Gene's adoptive father, Alfred Landry, Chippewa, was born in 1908 in the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota.
The frame caught my eye because I know the source of the distressed wood. I've come across it while beach combing. Some logs that are washed out to sea become colonized by borers that drill tunnels into the wood. The heavily eaten logs quite a sight when they wash back onto the shore.
Because the wood is so thoroughly perforated, it gives the false impression that it must be as light as balsa wood and easy to saw. That impression is false. I had visions of hand sawing a cross-section for display purposes. Ha! The person who produced the bored lumber in this frame must have used a commercial saw and a planer. The only thing I would do differently would be to apply a light, compatible stain to the bare, white wood on the exposed tunnel walls.
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Eugene Landry: An Artist, a Time and a Tribe
May 28-29, 2022
Shoalwater Bay Heritage Museum of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, Tokeland, Washington.
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Portrait of an Artist
Eugene ''Gene'' Landry (1937-1988) was a noted Northwest Native artist, who painted from the confines of a wheelchair. His personal story is one of perseverance, of an artist who created despite setbacks, always with humor and style.
Landry's art offers a glimpse into a transitional and little-documented time in Northwest Native history. His paintings are important because they represent a Native artist's portrayal of his own people during a time when Native Americans were erased, marginalized, and misrepresented by stereotypes in media and public education.
Landry painted contemporary portraits of his people, depicting them as they were. As one of his models said, ''We're so small and isolated here. People think we're so different. At one time, we had a bunch of kids from Raymond come down, and they wanted to know where our feathers were."
Gene was born in the village of Taholah on the Quinault Indian
Reservation. His biological mother was Hoh and his father was Quileute and Swedish. As an infant, he was adopted by Myrtle (Charley) and Fred Landry and raised at Georgetown, Myrtle's reservation.
Identity
As the only child of Myrtle and Fred Landry, Gene was well provided for and deeply loved. His biological-mother, Isabelle Hudson, a full-blooded Hoh, is remembered as having dark reddish-brown hair. His father, Austin Rosander, was half Quiliuette and half Swedish. Although Gene was adopted as a baby, he maintained ties with his biological family, who lived in Grays Harbor and the surrounding area.
Gene's appearance did not conform to expectations of what an Indian was "supposed to look like." His bright red hair (sometimes referred to as "Hoh River blond") made him stand out. In high school, he styled his hair like James Dean and drove a red 1937 hot rod Ford coupe. He was a gifted athlete, known for his running and boxing prowess, but he wasn't
allowed to run track because he refused to cut his hair.
Gene's art training was not traditional to his culture. He reached advanced levels in art at Aberdeen and Ocosta High Schools, but there were no practitioners of Native arts around to mentor him. He explored and developed his talent using the means available, based on Western European art traditions. He would go on to create art with a native sensibility, using the tools available.
Art Student
Gene trained himself to use his non-dominant left hand to paint. In 1961, he enrolled at the Leon F. Derbyshire School of Fine Arts in Seattle. There was no wheelchair access, so Gene had to be carried up the stairs to the second floor classroom.
In 1962 Gene studied with noted Northwest sculptor Philip Levine at his Phoenix Gallery in Seattle. By 1964, Gene was showing his work and winning acclaim in the Pacific Northwest. Over the next four years, he exhibited at the Frye Museum, the West Coast Annual at the Seattle Civic Center, The Edmonds and Anacortes Art Festivals, and the La Grande All Indian Arts Festivals.
Gene met Sharon Billingsley, a model and painter who attended classes at Derbyshire, and they struck up a friendship that led to romance. The couple could often be found sketching street scenes side by side, Gene in his wheelchair, Sharon next to him on a folding stool.
Gene and Sharon married in California on May 28, 1965. They went to Paris to study art, then returned to the Northwest, living in Seattle, Tacoma, and Georgetown until their marriage ended in 1972.
Back to Georgetown, Washington
In the late l960s, Landry moved back to the Shoalwater Bay Reservation. He set up a studio inside a small cabin that had been moved to the reservation from North Cove's at Washaway Beach. A wheel chair ramp and wrap-around deck made it accessible for plein air painting. Situated on the shore of Shoalwater Bay, Gene painted still-lives utilizing objects that washed in on the tides: glass fishing floats, discolored rope, old bones, shells and feathers.
He also painted still lifes and portraits in oil, using his family and friends as models. These works span a pivotal time in the tribe's history, from near termination to federal recognition.
Fifty years have passed since Gene painted Winona Weber's portrait. When asked why Landry's art matters today, she replied:
“I am a historian at heart. Gene's art is part of our history. Also, a talent like his really deserves to be acknowledged. When I was working with the women's history project, I said I was happy to be breaking some stereotypes of native women. A woman said it should just be commonplace. But first you have to be visible to be usual. I would like to see Gene visible."
Later Years
Gene traveled throughout the Southwest, spending time in New Mexico and Arizona. He traveled to Mexico and the Philippines seeking native healers to help with his deteriorating health. He eventually lost function in his left arm but continued to make art, holding the brush in his teeth to reach higher places on the canvas.
In 1980 Gene moved to Santa Barbara. His house, perched on a bluff overlooking the sea, was filled with art, his own and others. He opened a gallery downtown and championed the work of local artists. In the mid 80s his business partner-who was also his care giver unexpectedly died. His own health declining, Gene returned to his parent's home on the reservation.
Gene Landry died April 7, 1988 at age 51. He is buried next to Myrtle Landry and his relations in the Indian section at Sunset Memorial in Hoquiam, Washington. The Shoalwater Bay Tribe’s Na ‘m ‘sc ‘ac Heritage Museum is located on the former site of the cabin and dome.
Illness, November 1955
The illness came without warning. When 17-year-old Gene suddenly lost consciousness, his parents wrapped him in blankets and drove two hours to Cushman Indian Hospital in Tacoma. There were closer facilities for emergency care, but they did not provide Indian Health services. Gene remained a patient at Cushman for two and a half years, undergoing treatment for tubercular meningitis. The disease paralyzed his legs, and he endured grueling physical therapy, but he continued to work on paintings from a hospital bed.
Gene's parents moved to Tacoma to be closer to the hospital. When Myrtle Landry raised concerns about his condition and the poor care, Gene was abruptly discharged. Myrtle Landry (Washington Women's Heritage Project 1980):
"One doctor said, 'Why don't you just go and leave him and forget about him?' I said, 'Just who do you think you're talking to anyway?' I said, 'I got feelings, even though I'm a full blood Indian, I got feelings.' He said, 'Well, he'll never amount to anything.' I said, 'Well, I'm sure as heck not gonna let him die here.' And boy I raised Cain with 'em. So they told us one day, 'You get out.'
And then the State decided they could do more for him than I could." The decision proved tragic. At a rehabilitation facility on Bainbridge Island, Gene fell while being moved by attendants and suffered a spinal injury. He lost the use of his right arm and the possibility of ever walking again. He was 21 years old.
View from Empire State Building towards Chrysler Building.
Blick vom Empire State Building Richtung Chryler Building.
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. At 1,046 ft (319 m), it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel framework, and it was the world's tallest building for 11 months after its completion in 1930. As of 2019, the Chrysler is the 12th-tallest building in the city, tied with The New York Times Building.
Originally a project of real estate developer and former New York State Senator William H. Reynolds, the building was commissioned by Walter Chrysler, the head of the Chrysler Corporation. The construction of the Chrysler Building, an early skyscraper, was characterized by a competition with 40 Wall Street and the Empire State Building to become the world's tallest building. The Chrysler Building was designed and funded by Walter Chrysler personally as a real estate investment for his children, but it was not intended as the Chrysler Corporation's headquarters. An annex was completed in 1952, and the building was sold by the Chrysler family the next year, with numerous subsequent owners.
When the Chrysler Building opened, there were mixed reviews of the building's design, some calling it inane and unoriginal, others hailing it as modernist and iconic. Reviewers in the late 20th and early 21st centuries regarded the building as a paragon of the Art Deco architectural style. In 2007, it was ranked ninth on the American Institute of Architects' list of America's Favorite Architecture. The facade and interior became New York City designated landmarks in 1978, and the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
Site
The Chrysler Building is on the eastern side of Lexington Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The land was donated to The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1902. The site is roughly a trapezoid with a 201-foot-long (61 m) frontage on Lexington Avenue; a 167-foot-long (51 m) frontage on 42nd Street; and a 205-foot-long (62 m) frontage on 43rd Street. The site bordered the old Boston Post Road, which predated, and ran aslant of, the Manhattan street grid established by the Commissioners' Plan of 1811. As a result, the east side of the building's base is similarly aslant. The building is assigned its own ZIP Code, 10174. It is one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that have their own ZIP Codes, as of 2019.
The Grand Hyatt New York hotel and the Graybar Building are across Lexington Avenue, while the Socony–Mobil Building is across 42nd Street. In addition, the Chanin Building is to the southwest, diagonally across Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street.
Architecture
The Chrysler Building was designed by William Van Alen in the Art Deco style and is named after one of its original tenants, automotive executive Walter Chrysler. With a height of 1,046 feet (319 m), the Chrysler is the 12th-tallest building in the city as of 2019, tied with The New York Times Building. The building is constructed of a steel frame infilled with masonry, with areas of decorative metal cladding. The structure contains 3,862 exterior windows. Approximately fifty metal ornaments protrude at the building's corners on five floors reminiscent of gargoyles on Gothic cathedrals. The 31st-floor contains gargoyles[26] as well as replicas of the 1929 Chrysler radiator caps, and the 61st-floor is adorned with eagles as a nod to America's national bird.
The design of the Chrysler Building makes extensive use of bright "Nirosta" stainless steel, an austenitic alloy developed in Germany by Krupp. It was the first use of this "18-8 stainless steel" in an American project, composed of 18% chromium and 8% nickel. Nirosta was used in the exterior ornaments, the window frames, the crown, and the needle. The steel was an integral part of Van Alen's design, as E.E. Thum explains: "The use of permanently bright metal was of greatest aid in the carrying of rising lines and the diminishing circular forms in the roof treatment, so as to accentuate the gradual upward swing until it literally dissolves into the sky...." Stainless steel producers used the Chrysler Building to evaluate the durability of the product in architecture. In 1929, the American Society for Testing Materials created an inspection committee to study its performance, which regarded the Chrysler Building as the best location to do so; a subcommittee examined the building's panels every five years until 1960, when the inspections were canceled because the panels had shown minimal deterioration.
Form
The Chrysler Building's height and legally mandated setbacks influenced Van Alen in his design. The walls of the lowermost sixteen floors rise directly from the sidewalk property lines, except for a recess on one side that gives the building a U-shaped floor plan above the fourth floor. There are setbacks on floors 16, 18, 23, 28, and 31, making the building compliant with the 1916 Zoning Resolution. This gives the building the appearance of a ziggurat on one side and a U-shaped palazzo on the other. Above the 31st floor, there are no more setbacks until the 60th floor, above which the structure is funneled into a Maltese cross shape that "blends the square shaft to the finial", according to author and photographer Cervin Robinson.
The floor plans of the first sixteen floors were made as large as possible to optimize the amount of rental space nearest ground level, which was seen as most desirable. The U-shaped cut above the fourth floor served as a shaft for air flow and illumination. The area between floors 28 and 31 added "visual interest to the middle of the building, preventing it from being dominated by the heavy detail of the lower floors and the eye-catching design of the finial. They provide a base to the column of the tower, effecting a transition between the blocky lower stories and the lofty shaft."
Facade
Base and shaft
The ground floor exterior is covered in polished black granite from Shastone, while the three floors above it are clad in white marble from Georgia. There are two main entrances, on Lexington Avenue and on 42nd Street, each three floors high with Shastone granite surrounding each proscenium-shaped entryway. At some distance into each main entryway, there are revolving doors "beneath intricately patterned metal and glass screens", designed so as to embody the Art Deco tenet of amplifying the entrance's visual impact. A smaller side entrance on 43rd Street is one story high. There are storefronts consisting of large Nirosta-steel-framed windows at ground level. Office windows penetrate the second through fourth floors.
The west and east elevations contain the air shafts above the fourth floor, while the north and south sides contain the receding setbacks. Below the 16th floor, the facade is clad with white brick, interrupted by white-marble bands in a manner similar to basket weaving. The inner faces of the brick walls are coated with a waterproof grout mixture measuring about 1⁄16 inch (1.6 mm) thick. The windows, arranged in grids, do not have window sills, the frames being flush with the facade. Between the 16th and 24th floors, the exterior exhibits vertical white brick columns that are separated by windows on each floor. This visual effect is made possible by the presence of aluminum spandrels between the columns of windows on each floor. There are abstract reliefs on the 20th through 22nd-floor spandrels, while the 24th floor contains 9-foot (2.7 m) decorative pineapples.
Above the third setback, consisting of the 24th through 27th floors, the facade contains horizontal bands and zigzagged gray-and-black brick motifs. The section above the fourth setback, between the 27th and 31st floors, serves as a podium for the main shaft of the building. There are Nirosta-steel decorations above the setbacks. At each corner of the 31st floor, large car-hood ornaments were installed to make the base look larger. These corner extensions help counter a common optical illusion seen in tall buildings with horizontal bands, whose taller floors would normally look larger. The 31st floor also contains a gray and white frieze of hubcaps and fenders, which both symbolize the Chrysler Corporation and serves as a visual signature of the building's Art Deco design. The bonnet embellishments take the shape of Mercury's winged helmet and resemble hood ornaments installed on Chrysler vehicles at the time.
The shaft of the tower was designed to emphasize both the horizontal and vertical: each of the tower's four sides contains three columns of windows, each framed by bricks and an unbroken marble pillar that rises along the entirety of each side. The spandrels separating the windows contain "alternating vertical stripes in gray and white brick", while each corner contains horizontal rows of black brick.
Crown and spire
The Chrysler Building is renowned for, and recognized by its terraced crown, which is an extension of the main tower. Composed of seven radiating terraced arches, Van Alen's design of the crown is a cruciform groin vault of seven concentric members with transitioning setbacks. The entire crown is clad with Nirosta steel, ribbed and riveted in a radiating sunburst pattern with many triangular vaulted windows, reminiscent of the spokes of a wheel. The windows are repeated, in smaller form, on the terraced crown's seven narrow setbacks. Due to the curved shape of the dome, the Nirosta sheets had to be measured on site, so most of the work was carried out in workshops on the building's 67th and 75th floors. According to Robinson, the terraced crown "continue[s] the wedding-cake layering of the building itself. This concept is carried forward from the 61st floor, whose eagle gargoyles echo the treatment of the 31st, to the spire, which extends the concept of 'higher and narrower' forward to infinite height and infinitesimal width. This unique treatment emphasizes the building's height, giving it an other worldly atmosphere reminiscent of the fantastic architecture of Coney Island or the Far East."
Television station WCBS-TV (Channel 2) originated its transmission from the top of the Chrysler Building in 1938. WCBS-TV transmissions were shifted to the Empire State Building in 1960 in response to competition from RCA's transmitter on that building. For many years WPAT-FM and WTFM (now WKTU) also transmitted from the Chrysler Building, but their move to the Empire State Building by the 1970s ended commercial broadcasting from the structure.
The crown and spire are illuminated by a combination of fluorescent lights framing the crown's distinctive triangular windows and colored floodlights that face toward the building, allowing it to be lit in a variety of schemes for special occasions.The V-shaped fluorescent "tube lighting" – hundreds of 480V 40W bulbs framing 120 window openings – was added in 1981, although it had been part of the original design. Until 1998, the lights were turned off at 2 a.m., but The New York Observer columnist Ron Rosenbaum convinced Tishman Speyer to keep the lights on until 6 a.m. Since 2015, the Chrysler Building and other city skyscrapers have been part of the Audubon Society's Lights Out program, turning off their lights during bird migration seasons.
History
In the mid-1920s, New York's metropolitan area surpassed London's as the world's most populous metropolitan area and its population exceeded ten million by the early 1930s. The era was characterized by profound social and technological changes. Consumer goods such as radio, cinema, and the automobile became widespread. In 1927, Walter Chrysler's automotive company, the Chrysler Corporation, became the third-largest car manufacturer in the United States, behind Ford and General Motors. The following year, Chrysler was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year".
The economic boom of the 1920s and speculation in the real estate market fostered a wave of new skyscraper projects in New York City. The Chrysler Building was built as part of an ongoing building boom that resulted in the city having the world's tallest building from 1908 to 1974. Following the end of World War I, European and American architects came to see simplified design as the epitome of the modern era and Art Deco skyscrapers as symbolizing progress, innovation, and modernity. The 1916 Zoning Resolution restricted the height that street-side exterior walls of New York City buildings could rise before needing to be setback from the street. This led to the construction of Art Deco structures in New York City with significant setbacks, large volumes, and striking silhouettes that were often elaborately decorated. Art Deco buildings were constructed for only a short period of time; but because that period was during the city's late-1920s real estate boom, the numerous skyscrapers built in the Art Deco style predominated in the city skyline, giving it the romantic quality seen in films and plays.[The Chrysler Building project was shaped by these circumstances.
Development
Originally, the Chrysler Building was to be the Reynolds Building, a project of real estate developer and former New York state senator William H. Reynolds. Prior to his involvement in planning the building, Reynolds was best known for developing Coney Island's Dreamland amusement park. When the amusement park was destroyed by a fire in 1911, Reynolds turned his attention to Manhattan real estate, where he set out to build the tallest building in the world.
Planning
In 1921, Reynolds rented a large plot of land at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street with the intention of building a tall building on the site. Reynolds did not develop the property for several years, prompting the Cooper Union to try to increase the assessed value of the property in 1924. The move, which would force Reynolds to pay more rent, was unusual because property owners usually sought to decrease their property assessments and pay fewer taxes. Reynolds hired the architect William Van Alen to design a forty-story building there in 1927. Van Alen's original design featured many Modernist stylistic elements, with glazed, curved windows at the corners.
Van Alen was respected in his field for his work on the Albemarle Building at Broadway and 24th Street, designing it in collaboration with his partner H. Craig Severance. Van Alen and Severance complemented each other, with Van Alen being an original, imaginative architect and Severance being a shrewd businessperson who handled the firm's finances. The relationship between them became tense over disagreements on how best to run the firm. A 1924 article in the Architectural Review, praising the Albemarle Building's design, had mentioned Van Alen as the designer in the firm and ignored Severance's role. The architects' partnership dissolved acrimoniously several months later, with lawsuits over the firm's clients and assets lasting over a year. The rivalry influenced the design of the future Chrysler Building, since Severance's more traditional architectural style would otherwise have restrained Van Alen's more modern outlook.
Refinement of designs
By February 2, 1928, the proposed building's height had been increased to 54 stories, which would have made it the tallest building in Midtown. The proposal was changed again two weeks later, with official plans for a 63-story building. A little more than a week after that, the plan was changed for the third time, with two additional stories added. By this time, 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue were both hubs for construction activity, due to the removal of the Third Avenue Elevated's 42nd Street spur, which was seen as a blight on the area. The adjacent 56-story Chanin Building was also under construction. Because of the elevated spur's removal, real estate speculators believed that Lexington Avenue would become the "Broadway of the East Side", causing a ripple effect that would spur developments farther east.
In April 1928, Reynolds signed a 67-year lease for the plot and finalized the details of his ambitious project. Van Alen's original design for the skyscraper called for a base with first-floor showroom windows that would be triple-height, and above would be 12 stories with glass-wrapped corners, to create the impression that the tower was floating in mid-air. Reynolds's main contribution to the building's design was his insistence that it have a metallic crown, despite Van Alen's initial opposition; the metal-and-crystal crown would have looked like "a jeweled sphere" at night. Originally, the skyscraper would have risen 808 feet (246 m), with 67 floors. These plans were approved in June 1928. Van Alen's drawings were unveiled in the following August and published in a magazine run by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Reynolds ultimately devised an alternate design for the Reynolds Building, which was published in August 1928. The new design was much more conservative, with an Italianate dome that a critic compared to Governor Al Smith's bowler hat, and a brick arrangement on the upper floors that simulated windows in the corners, a detail that remains in the current Chrysler Building. This design almost exactly reflected the shape, setbacks, and the layout of the windows of the current building, but with a different dome.
Final plans and start of construction
With the design complete, groundbreaking for the Reynolds Building took place on September 19, 1928, but by late 1928, Reynolds did not have the means to carry on construction. Walter Chrysler offered to buy the building in early October 1928, and Reynolds sold the plot, lease, plans, and architect's services to Chrysler on October 15, 1928, for more than $2.5 million. That day, the Goodwin Construction Company began demolition of what had been built. A contract was awarded on October 28, and demolition was completed on November 9. Chrysler's initial plans for the building were similar to Reynolds's, but with the 808-foot building having 68 floors instead of 67. The plans entailed a ground-floor pedestrian arcade; a facade of stone below the fifth floor and brick-and-terracotta above; and a three-story bronze-and-glass "observation dome" at the top. However, Chrysler wanted a more progressive design, and he worked with Van Alen to redesign the skyscraper to be 925 ft (282 m) tall. At the new height, Chrysler's building would be taller than the 792-foot (241 m) Woolworth Building, a building in lower Manhattan that was the world's tallest at the time. At one point, Chrysler had requested that Van Alen shorten the design by ten floors, but reneged on that decision after realizing that the increased height would also result in increased publicity.
From late 1928 to early 1929, modifications to the design of the dome continued. In March 1929, the press published details of an "artistic dome" that had the shape of a giant thirty-pointed star, which would be crowned by a sculpture five meters high. The final design of the dome included several arches and triangular windows. Lower down, various architectural details were modeled after Chrysler automobile products, such as the hood ornaments of the Plymouth (see § Designs between setbacks). The building's gargoyles on the 31st floor and the eagles on the 61st floor, were created to represent flight, and to embody the machine age of the time. Even the topmost needle was built using a process similar to one Chrysler used to manufacture his cars, with precise "hand craftmanship". In his autobiography, Chrysler says he suggested that his building be taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Meanwhile, excavation of the new building's 69-foot-deep (21 m) foundation began in mid-November 1928 and was completed in mid-January 1929, when bedrock was reached. A total of 105,000,000 pounds (48,000,000 kg) of rock and 36,000,000 pounds (16,000,000 kg) of soil were excavated for the foundation, equal to 63% of the future building's weight. Construction of the building proper began on January 21, 1929. The Carnegie Steel Company provided the steel beams, the first of which was installed on March 27; and by April 9, the first upright beams had been set into place. The steel structure was "a few floors" high by June 1929, 35 floors high by early August, and completed by September. Despite a frantic steelwork construction pace of about four floors per week, no workers died during the construction of the skyscraper's steelwork. Chrysler lauded this achievement, saying, "It is the first time that any structure in the world has reached such a height, yet the entire steel construction was accomplished without loss of life". In total, 391,881 rivets were used, and approximately 3,826,000 bricks were laid to create the non-loadbearing walls of the skyscraper. Walter Chrysler personally financed the construction with his income from his car company. The Chrysler Building's height officially surpassed the Woolworth's on October 16, 1929, thereby becoming the world's tallest structure.
Completion
In January 1930, it was announced that the Chrysler Corporation would maintain satellite offices in the Chrysler Building during Automobile Show Week. The skyscraper was never intended to become the Chrysler Corporation's headquarters, which remained in Detroit. The first leases by outside tenants were announced in April 1930, before the building was officially completed. The building was formally opened on May 27, 1930, in a ceremony that coincided with the 42nd Street Property Owners and Merchants Association's meeting that year. In the lobby of the building, a bronze plaque that read "in recognition of Mr. Chrysler's contribution to civic advancement" was unveiled. Former Governor Smith, former Assemblyman Martin G. McCue, and 42nd Street Association president George W. Sweeney were among those in attendance. By June, it was reported that 65% of the available space had been leased. By August, the building was declared complete, but the New York City Department of Construction did not mark it as finished until February 1932.
The added height of the spire allowed the Chrysler Building to surpass 40 Wall Street as the tallest building in the world and the Eiffel Tower as the tallest structure. The Chrysler Building was thus the first man-made structure to be taller than 1,000 feet (300 m); and as one newspaper noted, the tower was also taller than the highest points of five states. The tower remained the world's tallest for 11 months after its completion. The Chrysler Building was appraised at $14 million, but was exempt from city taxes per an 1859 law that gave tax exemptions to sites owned by the Cooper Union. The city had attempted to repeal the tax exemption, but Cooper Union had opposed that measure. Because the Chrysler Building retains the tax exemption, it has paid Cooper Union for the use of their land since opening. While the Chrysler Corporation was a tenant, it was not involved in the construction or ownership of the Chrysler Building; rather, the tower was a project of Walter P. Chrysler for his children. In his autobiography, Chrysler wrote that he wanted to erect the building "so that his sons would have something to be responsible for".
Van Alen's satisfaction at these accomplishments was likely muted by Walter Chrysler's later refusal to pay the balance of his architectural fee. Chrysler alleged that Van Alen had received bribes from suppliers, and Van Alen had not signed any contracts with Walter Chrysler when he took over the project. Van Alen sued and the courts ruled in his favor, requiring Chrysler to pay Van Alen $840,000, or six percent of the total budget of the building. However, the lawsuit against Chrysler markedly diminished Van Alen's reputation as an architect, which, along with the effects of the Great Depression and negative criticism, ended up ruining his career. Van Alen ended his career as professor of sculpture at the nearby Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and died in 1954. According to author Neal Bascomb, "The Chrysler Building was his greatest accomplishment, and the one that guaranteed his obscurity."
The Chrysler Building's distinction as the world's tallest building was short-lived. John Raskob realized the 1,050-foot Empire State Building would only be 4 feet (1.2 m) taller than the Chrysler Building, and Raskob was afraid that Walter Chrysler might try to "pull a trick like hiding a rod in the spire and then sticking it up at the last minute." Another revision brought the Empire State Building's roof to 1,250 feet (380 m), making it the tallest building in the world by far when it opened on May 1, 1931. However, the Chrysler Building is still the world's tallest steel-supported brick building. The Chrysler Building fared better commercially than the Empire State Building did: by 1935, the Chrysler had already rented 70 percent of its floor area. By contrast, Empire State had only leased 23 percent of its space and was popularly derided as the "Empty State Building".
Impact
Reception
The completed Chrysler Building garnered mixed reviews in the press. Van Alen was hailed as the "Doctor of Altitude" by Architect magazine, while architect Kenneth Murchison called Van Alen the "Ziegfeld of his profession", comparing him to popular Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. The building was praised for being "an expression of the intense activity and vibrant life of our day", and for "teem[ing] with the spirit of modernism, ... the epitome of modern business life, stand[ing] for progress in architecture and in modern building methods." An anonymous critic wrote in Architectural Forum's October 1930 issue: "The Chrysler...stands by itself, something apart and alone. It is simply the realization, the fulfillment in metal and masonry, of a one-man dream, a dream of such ambitions and such magnitude as to defy the comprehension and the criticism of ordinary men or by ordinary standards."
The journalist George S. Chappell called the Chrysler's design "distinctly a stunt design, evolved to make the man in the street look up". Douglas Haskell stated that the building "embodies no compelling, organic idea", and alleged that Van Alen had abandoned "some of his best innovations in behalf of stunts and new 'effects'". Others compared the Chrysler Building to "an upended swordfish", or claimed it had a "Little Nemo"-like design. Lewis Mumford, a supporter of the International Style and one of the foremost architectural critics of the United States at the time, despised the building for its "inane romanticism, meaningless voluptuousness, [and] void symbolism". The public also had mixed reviews of the Chrysler Building, as Murchison wrote: "Some think it's a freak; some think it's a stunt."
Later reviews were more positive. Architect Robert A. M. Stern wrote that the Chrysler Building was "the most extreme example of the [1920s and 1930s] period's stylistic experimentation", as contrasted with 40 Wall Street and its "thin" detailing. George H. Douglas wrote in 2004 that the Chrysler Building "remains one of the most appealing and awe-inspiring of skyscrapers". Architect Le Corbusier called the building "hot jazz in stone and steel". Architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable stated that the building had "a wonderful, decorative, evocative aesthetic", while Paul Goldberger noted the "compressed, intense energy" of the lobby, the "magnificent" elevators, and the "magical" view from the crown. Anthony W. Robins said the Chrysler Building was "one-of-a-kind, staggering, romantic, soaring, the embodiment of 1920s skyscraper pizzazz, the great symbol of Art Deco New York".
The LPC said that the tower "embodies the romantic essence of the New York City skyscraper". Pauline Frommer, in the travel guide Frommer's, gave the building an "exceptional" recommendation, saying: "In the Chrysler Building we see the roaring-twenties version of what Alan Greenspan called 'irrational exuberance'—a last burst of corporate headquarter building before stocks succumbed to the thudding crash of 1929."
As icon
The Chrysler Building appears in several films set in New York and is widely considered one of the most positively acclaimed buildings in the city. A 1996 survey of New York architects revealed it as their favorite, and The New York Times described it in 2005 as "the single most important emblem of architectural imagery on the New York skyline". In mid-2005, the Skyscraper Museum in Lower Manhattan asked 100 architects, builders, critics, engineers, historians, and scholars, among others, to choose their 10 favorites among 25 of the city's towers. The Chrysler Building came in first place, with 90 respondents placing it on their ballots. In 2007, the building ranked ninth among 150 buildings in the AIA's List of America's Favorite Architecture.
The Chrysler Building is widely heralded as an Art Deco icon. Fodor's New York City 2010 described the building as being "one of the great art deco masterpieces" which "wins many a New Yorker's vote for the city's most iconic and beloved skyscraper". Frommer's states that the Chrysler was "one of the most impressive Art Deco buildings ever constructed". Insight Guides' 2016 edition maintains that the Chrysler Building is considered among the city's "most beautiful" buildings. Its distinctive profile has inspired similar skyscrapers worldwide, including One Liberty Place in Philadelphia, Two Prudential Plaza in Chicago, and the Al Kazim Towers in Dubai. In addition, the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada, contains the "Chrysler Tower", a replica of the Chrysler Building measuring 35 or 40 stories tall. A portion of the hotel's interior was also designed to resemble the Chrysler Building's interior.
In media
While seen in many films, the Chrysler Building almost never appears as a main setting in them, prompting architect and author James Sanders to quip it should win "the Award for Best Supporting Skyscraper". The building was supposed to be featured in the 1933 film King Kong, but only makes a cameo at the end thanks to its producers opting for the Empire State Building in a central role. The Chrysler Building notably appears in the background of The Wiz (1978); as the setting of much of Q - The Winged Serpent (1982); in the initial credits of The Shadow of the Witness (1987); and during or after apocalyptic events in Independence Day (1996), Armageddon (1998), Deep Impact (1998), Godzilla (1998), and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). The building also appears in other films, such as Spider-Man (2002), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Two Weeks Notice (2002), The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010), The Avengers (2012) and Men in Black 3 (2012). The building is mentioned in the number "It's the Hard Knock Life" for the musical Annie, and it is the setting for the post-game content in the Squaresoft video game Parasite Eve.
The Chrysler Building is frequently a subject of photographs. In December 1929, Walter Chrysler hired Margaret Bourke-White to take publicity images from a scaffold 400 feet (120 m) high. She was deeply inspired by the new structure and especially smitten by the massive eagle's-head figures projecting off the building. In her autobiography, Portrait of Myself, Bourke-White wrote, "On the sixty-first floor, the workmen started building some curious structures which overhung 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue below. When I learned these were to be gargoyles à la Notre Dame, but made of stainless steel as more suitable for the twentieth century, I decided that here would be my new studio. There was no place in the world that I would accept as a substitute."
According to one account, Bourke-White wanted to live in the building for the duration of the photo shoot, but the only person able to do so was the janitor, so she was instead relegated to co-leasing a studio with Time Inc. In 1930, several of her photographs were used in a special report on skyscrapers in the then-new Fortune magazine. Bourke-White worked in a 61st-floor studio designed by John Vassos until she was evicted in 1934. In 1934, Bourke-White's partner Oscar Graubner took a famous photo called "Margaret Bourke-White atop the Chrysler Building", which depicts her taking a photo of the city's skyline while sitting on one of the 61st-floor eagle ornaments. On October 5, 1998, Christie's auctioned the photograph for $96,000. In addition, during a January 1931 dance organized by the Society of Beaux-Arts, six architects, including Van Alen, were photographed while wearing costumes resembling the buildings that each architect designed.
(Wikipedia)
Das Chrysler Building ist ein 1930 fertiggestellter Wolkenkratzer im Stil des Art déco in Manhattan in New York City und zählt zu den Wahrzeichen der Metropole.
Der Büroturm befindet sich im Viertel Turtle Bay an der Lexington Avenue, Ecke 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan. Er steht auf einem Grundstück der privaten Hochschule Cooper Union, hat die Adresse „405 Lexington Avenue“ und ist nur einen Block vom Grand Central Terminal entfernt. Schräg gegenüber steht mit dem Chanin Building ein weiterer bekannter Wolkenkratzer im Art-déco-Stil.
Das Chrysler Building ist 318,8 Meter (1046 Fuß) hoch und damit zusammen mit dem 2007 erbauten New York Times Tower auf Rang 13 der höchsten Gebäude in New York City. Unter den höchsten Gebäuden der Vereinigten Staaten nehmen beide Gebäude den 21. Rang ein (jeweils Stand 2023). Auftraggeber war Walter Percy Chrysler, der es ursprünglich für die Chrysler Corporation zwischen 1928 und 1930 bauen ließ. Für die Planung des Wolkenkratzers im Art-déco-Stil war der Architekt William Van Alen verantwortlich. Das Gebäude zählt zu den schönsten Wolkenkratzern jener Epoche.
Geschichte
Entstehungsbedingungen
Das Chrysler Building im Stadtkontext, gesehen vom Empire State Building aus. Weiter rechts der Trump World Tower
Paradoxerweise entstanden viele Wolkenkratzer in der Zeit der Weltwirtschaftskrise. Das liegt zum einen an der Hochphase vor der Krise: Das Bruttosozialprodukt der USA war nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg innerhalb von acht Jahren um 50 % gestiegen, und dieser Konjunktursprung führte zu zahlreichen Neubauten und Planungen von Geschäftshäusern. Zum anderen kamen den Bauherren bei der anschließenden Ausführung während der Krise die radikal gesunkenen Arbeitslöhne nach dem Börsencrash 1929 zugute. Sie konnten für das gleiche Geld wesentlich mehr Arbeiter einstellen als geplant. Die Macht der Gewerkschaften war gebrochen, die Arbeitslöhne waren niedrig, Arbeiter standen in Massen zur Verfügung. Ein Gebäude dieses Ausmaßes hätte unter normalen Verhältnissen in dieser kurzen Bauzeit nicht errichtet werden können. Pro Woche wurden durchschnittlich vier Stockwerke errichtet, für die damaligen Verhältnisse ein Rekord. (Ähnliche Effekte konnte man auch später beobachten: Das höchste Gebäude der Welt, der Burj Khalifa in Dubai, wurde 2010, in der Zeit der Finanzkrise, fertig. Geplant wurde er jedoch vor dem Wirtschaftsabschwung.)
Baugeschichte
Obwohl das Gebäude speziell für den Autohersteller Chrysler konstruiert und gebaut wurde, bezahlte die Firma weder für den Bau, noch besaß sie es jemals. Walter P. Chrysler hatte entschieden, privat dafür aufzukommen, um es an seine Kinder weitergeben zu können.
Die Grundsteinlegung für das Gebäude fand am 19. September 1928 statt. Am 27. Mai 1930 wurde es feierlich eingeweiht. Mit 319 Metern war es bei der Eröffnung das höchste Gebäude der Welt und auch das erste, das die 1000-Fuß-Marke (305 Meter) durchbrach. Bis zum Dach misst es 282 Meter; da die Metallspitze aber zur Grundstruktur des Gebäudes gehört, wird sie zur offiziellen Höhe mitgezählt.
Während der Erbauung hatte es bis in die letzten Tage einen Wettlauf mit dem Turm der Bank of Manhattan (heute 40 Wall Street oder The Trump Building) gegeben, den das Chrysler Building für sich entschied. Der Architekt William Van Alen hatte 1930 die 56 Meter hohe Spitze bis zum letzten Moment geheim gehalten, damit der Konkurrent, die Bank of Manhattan, deren Gebäude gerade 283 Meter Höhe erreicht hatte, nicht mehr reagieren konnte. Die einzelnen Bestandteile dieser Metallspitze waren im Heizungsschacht des Gebäudes zunächst gelagert und vormontiert worden. Dann wurden die riesigen Stahlplatten heimlich auf das 65. Geschoss gebracht, dort zusammengeschraubt und anschließend in einem Stück mit einem Drehkran auf das Gebäude aufgesetzt, das damit 319 Meter Höhe erreichte und die Konkurrenz deutlich übertrumpfte. Dieses Unterfangen dauerte weniger als 1½ Stunden. Dieser Stahlaufbau, genannt „Vortex“ (lat. Wirbel, Drehung), dient lediglich als Dekoration, wiegt 30 Tonnen und ist ein Beispiel des Art déco.
Allerdings blieb das Chrysler Building nur kurz das höchste Gebäude der Welt. 1931 wurde in Midtown Manhattan das Empire State Building mit einer Höhe von 381 Metern fertiggestellt und war damit deutlich höher als alle anderen Gebäude. Bis zum Jahr 1969 blieb das Chrysler Building jedoch der zweithöchste Wolkenkratzer der Welt und gehörte noch bis in die späten 1990er Jahre zu den „Top Ten“ der weltweit höchsten Gebäude.
Spätere Entwicklung
Im 67. Stockwerk befand sich eine besonders während der Prohibition bekannte Restaurant-Bar, der so genannte Cloud Club, in der ehemaligen ‚Wohnung‘ des Firmengründers Walter P. Chrysler.
Lediglich die Lobby des Chrysler Building ist der Öffentlichkeit zur Besichtigung zugänglich (inkl. eigenem Subway-Zugang, jedoch nur werktags). Um zu den noch im Stil des Art déco gehaltenen Aufzügen zu gelangen, braucht man einen speziellen Ausweis oder einen Termin bei einer der dort ansässigen Firmen.
Nach dem Tod von Walter P. Chrysler 1940 kam das Gebäude zur W.P Chrysler Building Corporation, die es zusammen mit der Erbenfamilie 1953 für 18 Millionen US-Dollar an den Immobilienmakler William Zeckendorf verkaufte. 1960 erwarben die Immobilieninvestoren Sol Goldman und Alex DiLorenzo mittels Finanzierung durch die Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) das Gebäude. Die wiederum übernahm 1975 die Anteile für 35 Millionen US-Dollar. Im Dezember 1976 wurde das Hochhaus zur National Historic Landmark erklärt.
Bis 1979 wurde das Gebäude für rund 23 Millionen US-Dollar komplett renoviert. Im September 1979 wurde es von Jack Kent Cooke übernommen. Nach dem Tod von Cooke 1997 übernahm das Immobilienunternehmen Tishman Speyer Properties zusammen mit The Travelers Companies, Inc. (ab 1998 Teil der Citigroup) das Gebäude für eine geschätzte Summe von 210 bis 250 Millionen US-Dollar (187 bis 223 Millionen Euro). Im März 2001 übernahm die deutsche Investmentgesellschaft TMW Immobilien AG[5] aus München über ihre US-amerikanische Tochter für rund 390 Millionen US-Dollar rund 75 Prozent des Gebäudes. Zu den größten Anteilseignern der TMW gehörten der Ergo Trust der Ergo Group, die Provinzial Versicherung sowie drei deutsche Privatbanken.
Zwischen Herbst 2001 und Juli 2008 befand sich das Gebäude im Besitz der zur Ergo Group gehörenden GVP Gesellschaft für Vertriebs- und Produktmanagement AG (heute Ideenkapital Financial Service AG) aus Düsseldorf, die hierfür einen geschlossenen Immobilienfonds (ProVictor) auflegte. Sie verkaufte das Gebäude zu einem Anteil von 90 Prozent am 9. Juli 2008 an den Staatsfonds Abu Dhabi Investment Council (Mubadala) für 800 Millionen US-Dollar (713 Millionen Euro).
Reuters-Informationen zufolge wurde im März 2019 das sanierungsbedürftige Chrysler Building für lediglich 150 Millionen US-Dollar an ein Unternehmen verkauft, das je zur Hälfte der österreichischen Signa Holding und dem amerikanisch-deutschen Unternehmen RFR Group der deutschstämmigen Immobilieninvestoren Aby Rosen und Michael Fuchs gehört.[1] Weiteren Medienberichten zur Folge waren der Grund für den extrem niedrigen Verkaufspreis des Chrysler Gebäudes an das Gemeinschaftsunternehmen von Signa und RFR der bevorstehende extrem hohe Bodenpachtanstieg von 7,75 Millionen Dollar im Jahr 2018 auf 31,5 Millionen US-Dollar im Jahr 2023. Bis 2028 soll die Pacht weiter auf 41 Millionen US-Dollar steigen und 2029 auf 67 Millionen US-Dollar. Eigentümer des Bodengrundes unter dem Gebäude ist seit 1902 die Cooper Union, die wiederum – als eine Stiftung – die Pacht steuerfrei einnimmt.
Nutzer des Gebäudes
Die Chrysler Corporation bezog das Gebäude 1930 als dessen Ankermieter und nutzte die Räumlichkeiten bis in die 1950er Jahre als Abteilungshauptquartier. Weitere Mieter der ersten Stunde waren Time und Texaco. Weil Time Bedarf an mehr Büroräumen hatte, zog es 1937 ins Rockefeller Center um. Texaco zog 1967 nach Purchase, New York, weil das Unternehmen die Arbeitsplätze in eine Vorortumgebung verlegen wollte.
Zu den Nutzern des Gebäudes in der Gegenwart gehören: Regus, Creative Artists Agency, Blank Rome, Clyde & Co, InterMedia Partners, Troutman Sanders Reprieve und YES Network.
Baustil
Das Gebäude wurde im Stil des Art déco errichtet. Am Gebäude finden sich Zierelemente aus rostfreiem Stahl, die an Wasserspeier (Gargoylen) erinnern, Flügelhelm-artige Figuren, die den Chrysler-Kühlerfiguren von 1926 nachempfunden sind,[23] und Adlerköpfe – das Wappentier der Vereinigten Staaten. Außerdem wurden am 31. Stockwerk Zierelemente in Form von Chrysler-Motorhauben und Kachelfriese in Form von Chrysler-Radkappen als Zierrat an der Fassade verwendet. Auch die Kuppel des Gebäudes ist aus nichtrostendem Stahl gefertigt.[2] Die Spitze bildet eine sich pyramidenhaft verjüngende Turmkrone aus Kacheln und Nickeltafeln, aus der eine 27 Tonnen schwere Nickelstahlnadel ragt.[24]
Die für die New Yorker Skyline so unverwechselbare Beleuchtung kommt durch unscheinbare Leuchtstofflampen zustande, die an den Fensterrahmen angebracht sind. Die Fenster sind als Schiebefenster gestaltet und lassen sich in allen Etagen öffnen.
Höhe
Bei seiner Fertigstellung im Jahr 1930 war das Chrysler Building mit 319 Metern Höhe das höchste Gebäude der Erde und übertraf das 283 Meter hohe Bank of Manhattan Company Building (heute 40 Wall Street). Auch überrundete es als erstes Bauwerk den Eiffelturm, der aufgrund kaum vorhandener Nutzflächen nicht als Gebäude, sondern lediglich als Bauwerk gewertet wird. Doch schon ein Jahr nach der Fertigstellung, im Mai 1931, wurde es vom Empire State Building um 62 Meter (381 Meter hoch) überholt. Fortan war es noch bis zur Fertigstellung des 344 Meter hohen John Hancock Center in Chicago im Jahr 1969 das zweithöchste Gebäude der Welt.
Innerhalb New Yorks wurde es 1972 und 1973 durch die Türme des World Trade Center (417 Meter und 415 Meter) erneut übertroffen. Nach deren Zerstörung 2001 wurde es zeitweise wieder zum zweithöchsten Gebäude New York Citys, bis 2009 der 366 Meter hohe Bank of America Tower fertig wurde (bereits 2007 erreichte der New York Times Tower dieselbe Höhe wie das Chrysler Building). Seit 2014 ist auch das Gebäude 432 Park Avenue höher. Inzwischen rangiert das Chrysler Building zusammen mit dem New York Times Tower nur noch auf Platz zwölf der höchsten Gebäude in New York. Unter Berücksichtigung seiner 2003 fertiggestellten Antenne ist auch das Conde Nast Building höher als das Chrysler Building. Seitdem der Eiffelturm über eine Fernseh- und Funkturmantenne verfügt, ist auch dieser wieder höher als das Chrysler Building (aktuell misst der Eiffelturm 330 Meter).
Ähnliche Gebäude
Im Laufe der Zeit sind in den USA, wie auch weltweit, eine Reihe von Wolkenkratzern entstanden, bei denen man sich in der Planung und Konzeption am Chrysler Building orientierte. Dies gilt insbesondere für die Spitze des Gebäudes. Besonders bekannt sind diesbezüglich Bauten wie der One Liberty Place in Philadelphia oder die Al Kazim Towers in Dubai, die jedoch beide niedriger als das Chrysler Building sind. Das New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas zitiert unter anderem auch das Chrysler Building.
Schutzausweisung
Das Gebäude kam 1976 als National Historic Landmark ins National Register of Historic Places und wurde 1978 von der Landmarks Preservation Commission als New York City Landmark ausgewiesen.
Daten
Etagen: 77
Höhe: 318,92 m
Höhe Dach: 282 m
Höchstes Stockwerk: 274 m
Höchste Aussichtsetage: 238,66 m
Fenster: 3.750
Stahl: 21.000 t
Ziegelsteine: 4.000.000
Wasserrohre: 50 km
Elektrokabel: 1000 km
(Wikipedia)
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_City
The Forbidden City is a palace complex in central Beijing, China. The former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty (the years 1420 to 1912), it now houses the Palace Museum. The Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years.
Constructed from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 hectares (over 180 acres). The palace exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.
Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum, whose extensive collection of artwork and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both museums descend from the same institution, but were split after the Chinese Civil War. Since 2012, the Forbidden City has seen an average of 15 million visitors annually, and received more than 16 million visitors in 2016 and 2017.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong
Mao Zedong (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who became the founding father of the People's Republic of China, which he ruled as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. His theories, military strategies, and political policies are collectively known as Maoism.
Mao was the son of a wealthy farmer in Shaoshan, Hunan. He had a Chinese nationalist and anti-imperialist outlook early in his life, and was particularly influenced by the events of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 and May Fourth Movement of 1919. He later adopted Marxism–Leninism while working at Peking University, and became a founding member of the Communist Party of China (CPC), leading the Autumn Harvest Uprising in 1927. During the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the CPC, Mao helped to found the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, led the Jiangxi Soviet's radical land policies, and ultimately became head of the CPC during the Long March. Although the CPC temporarily allied with the KMT under the United Front during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), China's civil war resumed after Japan's surrender and in 1949 Mao's forces defeated the Nationalist government, which withdrew to Taiwan.
On October 1, 1949, Mao proclaimed the foundation of the People's Republic of China (PRC), a single-party state controlled by the CPC. In the following years he solidified his control through land reforms and through a psychological victory in the Korean War, as well as through campaigns against landlords, people he termed "counter-revolutionaries", and other perceived enemies of the state. In 1957 he launched a campaign known as the Great Leap Forward that aimed to rapidly transform China's economy from agrarian to industrial. This campaign led to the deadliest famine in history and the deaths of 20–45 million people between 1958 and 1962. In 1966, Mao initiated the Cultural Revolution, a program to remove "counter-revolutionary" elements in Chinese society which lasted 10 years and was marked by violent class struggle, widespread destruction of cultural artifacts, and an unprecedented elevation of Mao's cult of personality. The program is now officially regarded as a "severe setback" for the PRC. In 1972, Mao welcomed American President Richard Nixon in Beijing, signalling the start of a policy of opening China to the world. After years of ill health, Mao suffered a series of heart attacks in 1976 and died at the age of 82. He was succeeded as paramount leader by Premier Hua Guofeng, who was quickly sidelined and replaced by Deng Xiaoping.
A controversial figure, Mao is regarded as one of the most important and influential individuals in modern world history. He is also known as a political intellect, theorist, military strategist, poet, and visionary. Supporters credit him with driving imperialism out of China, modernising the nation and building it into a world power, promoting the status of women, improving education and health care, as well as increasing life expectancy as China's population grew from around 550 million to over 900 million under his leadership. Conversely, his regime has been called autocratic and totalitarian, and condemned for bringing about mass repression and destroying religious and cultural artifacts and sites. It was additionally responsible for vast numbers of deaths with estimates ranging from 30 to 70 million victims.
Frame :*INDEPENDENT FABRICATION*
Fork :*IGLEHEART**
Stem :*THOMSON* elite X4
Headset :*PHILWOOD*
Wheels :*PHILWOOD* iso disc hub × *DT SWISS*
Tire :*MAXXIS* cross mark
Handlebar :*THOMSON* MTB aluminium bar
Crank :*SHIMANO* XT
BB :*PHILWOOD* outboard bottom bracket
RD :*SHIMANO* XT
Brake :*SHIMANO* XT
Saddle :*WTB*
Seat Post :*THOMSON* elite setback seatpost
Grip:*ESI* racers edge grip
Seat Clamp :*DKG*
Saddle bag:*OUTER SHELL ADVENTURE* rolltop saddlebag
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the capital city and most populous municipality of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper, 1,351,587 in the urban area and 2,410,960 in the metropolitan area. The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country but is not its capital, which is Haarlem. The metropolitan area comprises much of the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 8 million.
Amsterdam's name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the city's origin around a dam in the river Amstel. Originating as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age (17th century), as a result of its innovative developments in trade. During that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighbourhoods and suburbs were planned and built. The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Since the annexation of the municipality of Sloten in 1921 by the municipality of Amsterdam, the oldest historic part of the city lies in Sloten (9th century).
As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group. The city is also the cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, including Philips, AkzoNobel, TomTom and ING. Also, many of the world's largest companies are based in Amsterdam or established their European headquarters in the city, such as leading technology companies Uber, Netflix and Tesla. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and 12th globally on quality of living for environment and infrastructure by Mercer. The city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Port of Amsterdam to this day remains the second in the country, and the fifth largest seaport in Europe. Famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza.
The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city centre. Amsterdam's main attractions include its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, Hermitage Amsterdam, the Anne Frank House, the Scheepvaartmuseum, the Amsterdam Museum, the Heineken Experience, the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, Natura Artis Magistra, Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, NEMO, the red-light district and many cannabis coffee shops. They draw more than 5 million international visitors annually. The city is also well known for its nightlife and festival activity; several of its nightclubs (Melkweg, Paradiso) are among the world's most famous. It is also one of the world's most multicultural cities, with at least 177 nationalities represented.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magere_Brug
The Magere Brug (English: Skinny Bridge) is a bridge over the river Amstel in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It connects the banks of the river at Kerkstraat, between the Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht.
The central section of the Magere Brug is a bascule bridge made of white-painted wood. The present bridge was built in 1934. The first bridge at this site was built in 1691 as Kerkstraatbrug and had 13 arches. Because this bridge was very narrow, the locals called it magere brug, which literally means "skinny bridge". In 1871 the state of the bridge had deteriorated so much, it was demolished and replaced by a nine-arched wooden bridge. Half a century later, this bridge also needed to be replaced. Architect Piet Kramer made several designs for a steel and stone bridge, but the city decided to replace it with a new bridge that looked the same as the previous, only slightly bigger. In 1934, that bridge was demolished, and replaced by a redesign made by Piet Kramer. The last major renovation was in 1969. Until 1994, the bridge was opened by hand, but is now operated automatically.
Use of the bridge has been limited to pedestrians and cyclists since 2003. The centre-part is opened many times, daily, in order to let river traffic pass. The sightseeing tour boats are low enough to pass underneath the bridge when closed. The bridge is decorated with 1,200 light bulbs which are turned on in the evening.
A story told to tourists about the origins of the 1691 version of the bridge is that it was built by 2 sisters who lived on opposite sides of the Amstel river and wanted to be able to visit one another, every day. In one variant of the story, the sisters were not able to afford a bridge of adequate width or height, for general use, so a very narrow bridge was built, hence its name. In another variant, the sisters' last name was 'Mager', hence the bridge's name (rather than from its narrowness). Recent research of city archives revealed the name has its origin in the fact that originally a broad and monumental stone bridge was planned during Amsterdam's prosperous Golden Age, but the 1672 economic setback forced the city council to drastically scale back the plans, and build a basic and simple structure, instead.
The bridge can be seen in a number of films, including the 1971 James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever (in which the legend of the bridge's being built is heard by a boat tour guide).
We've had some heartbreak and a few setbacks at Scout's Crater, so the artifacts project will be on hold for a bit.
On the upside, it's just about spring here. The flora and fauna are waking up again, so we thought we'd take the camera outside and show you around in the interim. There's a forest pond at the base of the crater - it's a pleasant place where Deer nap under the Cedars and time seems to slow a little. Migrating Birds drop in to vibe on the scene all year around, but spring is the busiest time. Lots of new life. We'll do our best to share it with you this year.
P.S. Also, I think Birds might be easier to photograph than these darned ol' artifacts. Should be a nice break :)